Intricate Designs
by derangedhighlander
Summary: Aina, half hanyou and half miko, was sent into the future to protect her from a prophecy. What happens when she falls down a certain well, and is found by her true mate in the past? OC/Sess pairing, with some Inu/Kag and Mir/San
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_The Lady of the West will kill her. _

The distraught woman stumbled through the forest, the precious bundle in her arms clutched to her chest. A tremulous wail sounded from the bundle, only to be hastily shushed by the woman. Miro looked down at the babe nestled in her blankets and stifled a sob. The Lady of the West, the wife of the great Dog General, wanted to kill this _baby. _ The almost-defenseless newborn daughter of Miro's sister, Akemi, was to be put to death.

Miro sobbed at the thought of her dead sister Akemi. The young mother had died in childbirth mere hours earlier, bleeding out before her daughter had let out her first cry. Miro tried to think about her sister without imagining the pallor of her dead flesh and failed. Tears stained the blanket the newborn was swaddled in.

A silver flash in the woods caused a scream to burst from the startled woman. Miro looked frantically from side to side, trying to identify what the silver blur had been. One hand held the babe tightly while the other scrabbled behind her for some sort of weapon. Feeling a branch spongy from the day's rain, she clamped sweaty fingers around it and hefted it to hip-level. Backing herself against a tree, Miro prepared for the worst.

Was the silver flash the blurred form of the Dog General; come to kill the future mate of his son before he could claim her? Or was it his wife, the Lady of the West, who wanted to destroy the hanyou-human mix because of the prophecy? Miro knew of many reasons a youkai, hanyou, or miko would be after her and her niece this eve.

Miro looked down at the evidence of her sister's nefarious union with a hanyou. Small, velvety soft fox ears peeped from a head of red curls, and Miro could see a hint of a red bushy tail, tipped in white. Akemi had always been drawn to what she had not, and the handsome kitsune hanyou had proven too difficult to ignore. The young miko had instantly fallen in love, and had condemned the both of them, and her daughter, for it. Relationships between miko and any descendant of a demon was forbidden due to the prophecy.

The hanyou Akemi had had an affair with, resulting in Aina, the babe, had died this morning. The Dog General had executed him personally for his crime of being with a miko. Akemi's death in childbirth had proved her own execution unnecessary, but the babe was still sentenced to death. Miro could not allow her innocent niece to die.

Still, Miro resented her dead sister for drawing her into this. Akemi's weakness had condemned their entire village, dooming them all to slavery with the youkai lord and his vassals. Miro cared not that Akemi had claimed that she was the hanyou's true mate. The detestable half-demon could have died alone for all Miro cared. Now, it was left upon Miro to deliver the baby girl to the Sorceress who could protect the girl from the youkai.

The Sorceress was feared by all, but known by few. The Sorceress approached Akemi the moment the Sorceress had sensed her babe in her womb. The Sorceress had predicted a baby girl, and requested she be named Aina. Akemi had been told that if she wanted little Aina to survive, the babe had to be delivered to her the night of her birth and no later, or all was lost. Miro had only been told the way to reach the Sorceress as Akemi was dying, and so was on the way to the mysterious woman.

Miro looked down at the tiny girl in slight disgust as Aina opened her eyes. Green so pale and clear it was distinctly inhuman, with a rim of gold surrounding the pupils. The girl would be stunning when she came of age, Miro grudgingly admitted to herself, but the oddness of her features in a land dominated by black and brown was distinct. Only among the youkai and hanyou were such colors seen.

"Give me the child."

Miro screamed at the voice, startled into near hysterics by the unexpectedness of it. Her eyes had been darting fearfully from left to right, yet had still managed to miss the entrance of the formidable youkai.

The youkai stared at the small woman in front of him, observing her makeshift weapon in hand and the bundle clutched to her breast. The stick would prove to be issue, as the dampness of the branch had permeated the bark and soaked into the wood. It would splinter and break if the woman hit him with it. Truthfully, the babe was more dangerous than the branch. Young miko have no control over their powers, and she could purify him on accident.

"Give me the child," the youkai repeated, growling slightly. He was quickly losing patience with the woman. The youkai needed this deed done with before his wife found the babe.

Miro squeezed the girl, causing a cry to burst from the irate baby. "Shhh, Aina," Miro murmured, shifting the bundle in her arms. The youkai looked curiously at the tuft of red hair that he could see, marveling at its vivid hue. He mused how the smallest of things caught and held his interest now. His millennia long life span had almost leached all the life from him before the interesting prophecy, the birth of his son, and then the years following.

"I- I can't let you kill her," the human woman stuttered. The youkai watched the sweat glisten on her forehead in distaste. Humans held little interest to him, and whenever they caught his interest it was usually because it was a miko or monk. The woman before him had no miko powers, unlike her late sister, who had been an untrained miko.

"I have no plans to kill her. I intend to save her, as I can get to the Sorceress much more quickly than you."

Miro stared at the youkai lord. "But- but you ordered her death?" The statement was phrased as a question, showing her confusion.

"I have a personal interest in ensuring the health, and therefore life, of this child. Do not presume to question me, mortal. Give me the child," the youkai said. He could scent the human's confusion, but could also sense that she was beginning to give in. He was relieved at her looming acquiescence, but disturbed that he had to spend so little time convincing her. If it had been another demon that had found her, would she have given the child up so quickly? The though of the babe dying at the hands of one of his wife's hunters nearly enraged him.

"Who are you?" Miro asked the youkai.

The youkai looked at the small human woman. He felt no guilt when he swiped his clawed hand forward, burring from the quick movement, and tore open her throat. The cut was perfect, a clean slice, and she bled out before she could get a sound out. Red blood made a wave down the front of her rough homespun dress. The youkai lightly took the babe from her loose arms, before the body of Miro could hit the ground and the blood could seep into the cloth of the baby's blanket.

"Aina, is it?" the youkai said to the baby. Her green eyes stared solemnly into his, pink lips wrapped around her fingers. The Inu Taisho stared at the girl child, overcome with tenderness. The last babe he had held had been his young son, who now had a strong aversion to touch. He remembered his task at the thought of his son, and stared at the child with a new light in mind.

The Inu Taisho reached into a hidden fold of his armor, deftly removing a small amulet from the white garment. The circular piece of wood had intricate carvings of vines on one side. The other side had a delicate tracery of threads made from precious metals. Extremely tiny pieces of gold, silver, and bronze had been treated as thread and woven into a complicatedly intricate Sakura blossom. The artistry present in the small amulet belied its true purpose, giving it the appearance of a pretty piece of jewelry. Inutaino grimaced at the remembrance of what he had gone through to get this amulet. The youkai lord had been greatly pained when his eyeball had grown back, for it had itched like mad. Myoga had had great fun teasing him that instead of a flea, his own youkai regrowth had caused him an annoyance.

Aina gurgled when Inutaino put the amulet around her neck. She flapped her arms, happily making baby noises. The Inu Taisho pulled another amulet, identical to the first. He smiled sadly at the baby, and made a quick pinprick on her fleshy arm, scooping up the droplet of blood that formed. The baby's happy gurgles quickly transformed into the infant screams every mother dreads to her.

Inutaino cooed at the small baby, trying to quiet the squealing child. The squall only got louder. The feared youkai lord was at a loss at what to do with the child. He finished his task, placing the droplet of blood on the second amulet. The drop sunk into the wood without a trace, and the amulet hummed slightly with magic.

Satisfied with the amulet's response, Inutaino turned his attention to the crying infant. Aina was letting loose cries that could compare to the screeches of a hawk youkai; Inutaino nearly covered his sensitive ears. He tried to soothe the child, rocking her small form in his brawny arms. Aina continued to cry.

A sense of foreboding caused the Inu Taisho to look up, observing the forest around him. He knew, in the way a youkai lord would know, that an unfriendly youkai had heard the cry of the baby; he could sense a youkai fast approaching. The Inu Taisho snarled, irritated that his timetable had been sped up. Spinning on his heel, he began to sprint to the lair of the Sorceress.

"Ah, just who I was expecting," the woman muttered as the great Dog General stalked into her room, baby in hold. She turned away from her desk, which was scattered with many vials of hair. Her own hair lay coiled at her feet; so long it had to be piled up on the floor. It gleamed black, almost absorbing the light in the room it was so dark. The Sorceress's red eyes gleamed as she looked at the great Dog General, clutching a small infant in his arms, almost tenderly. She was not surprised the youkai lord had arrived with the child instead of Akemi's sister; she had foreseen the death of Miro. It was a necessary evil; none could know that the Sorceress had participated in the saving of the child. None, that is, but the Inu Taisho. He had an interest in the survival of Aina.

The Sorceress beckoned him forward. The youkai lord stepped to the woman, glaring down at her. He did not like the power she exuded. It smelled foreign to his senses, and anything foreign in his lands was a danger to his people.

"What will you do to keep her alive?"

"I will place a glamor on her firstly. It is better that only I know the rest-"

Inutaino had her pinned to the wall by her neck faster than a blink. "I will know what happens to this child."

The Sorceress, with burning eyes, nodded mutely. She was angered by this show of power, in her own home no less! However, she had not lived so long by fighting with demons as powerful as the one currently threatening her.

A pale hand flew to her throat as the youkai lord dropped her suddenly, awaiting her response. Clearing her throat dramatically, the Sorceress regained her seat in the old wooden chair. "I am sending her forward," she said, rubbing her neck.

"Elaborate," the Dog General growled. His patience was at its end for the night.

"In time," she said. "I am sending the child to the future."

The Inu Taisho stared at the Sorceress. He allowed no glimmer of surprise to cross his expression. "You have this power?"

"Yes," she replied simply. "Do not worry for your son, Lord of the West. She will be recalled to her time when she comes of age."

"Will she be brought to this time here and now?"

"No, will be recalled to a time far in this future, yet in the future's she will be sent to past. I have foreseen a time when a different girl, a pure human, will be brought to a time for a special reason. She will be returned around that time."

The Dog General looked down at the babe. She had ceased crying when he had entered the lair of the Sorceress, but her green eyes still glimmered wetly. "How far into the future is this?"

"Seven hundred years."

The Inu Taisho closed his eyes, unable to guard one small emotion from crossing his face. _So long, _he thought. _ How will he live that long, so coldly, without her? _

The Sorceress observed pain flit across the Dog General's face. She was unsurprised; he had always cared more for the happiness of his son than he had let on to his court. The cold indifference of his son, when compared to the passionate rule of his father, greatly disturbed the court. They wondered at the capabilities of Sesshoumaru, and whether or not he could rule them fairly. The Sorceress was betting that the action she had foreseen would make the point moot; the court would crumble after the death of the great Inutaino.

"I must place the glamor on her," the Sorceress said, motioning for him to give her Aina. The youkai lord reluctantly released the girl child to the Sorceress's hold.

She turned and placed the bundle carefully on the desk. Picking up a small knife, she cleanly sawed one red curl off and placed it into a glass vial. The hair was to preserve the spell; that way, the spell would not have to change and intensify when the child went through puberty. The Sorceress would simply adjust whatever she needed to with the hair in the vial, the small curl affording her maneuverability with the complicated glamor.

The Sorceress murmured a hushed incantation in a different language. The words lilted unfamiliarly to the youkai lord's sharp ears, sounding more like music than language. The hands held out over the child glowed briefly, and then dimmed. The Inutaino watched as the small red ears and tail faded from view, hidden by powerful magic. The vibrancy of her hair dimmed, her eyes becoming pale imitations of their former glory. The hair contained within the vial did not change.

"Say your goodbyes, Lord of the West, for I send her forth soon." The Sorceress left the room.

Inutaino stared down at Aina. He had mixed feelings over the child. He was ecstatic for birth, but resented that she could not have been pure youkai. It would have been easier for his son. The prophecy would not concern her.

He gently fingered a small red curl, then ran the finger down to her flailing fist. Aina grasped it, and gurgled happily. Inutaino smiled at her antics, stunned by the warmth she exuded, the passion, even as an infant. She would be a good match for his son: warmth to combat cold, passion to combat indifference.

The Sorceress reentered the room, long red skirt training after her. Her hair dragged on the floor like a snake in her wake. In her hands was a rough basket, woven with wood interspersed with herbs. The basket hummed with magic.

She placed Aina in the basket, silken blanket and all. The amulet was nestled against the babe's stomach. Aina startled, able to sense the magic with her untrained miko power. She whimpered, uncomfortable at the humming in the base of her skull. Inutaino moved as if to go comfort the babe, but the Sorceress motioned him back. "She is surrounded in a powerful field of magic. She is not fully in this world anymore. If you stepped into the field of magic, you would age like an ordinary human. The magic is directly linked to only her."

Inutaino stepped backward, but continued to watch the child. The Sorceress ringed an invisible field of magic with salt, and then began to walk around the basket and salt clockwise. The lilting incantation was spoken, then as she began to walk counter clockwise, repeated backwards. The field leapt into view, glowing with pink and purple and blue swirls. Inutaino watched as the basket popped out of existence, carrying Aina with it.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Aina detested touring shrines.

Her father loved the old architecture, and sought in his free time to tour every shrine in Japan. He dragged Aina along with him, endeavoring to instill a love for his passion in his adopted daughter.

Aina would have none of it. She loved her father, doddering scholar that he was, but she simply hated these tours. Today was on older shrine in Tokyo, the Higurashi shrine. What she knew of it was as uninteresting as all of the others, except that a girl close to her age cared for this shrine. Aina hoped to meet her, and perhaps make a friend.

Aina smiled, imagining becoming great friends with her. Aina's only friend had recently moved to America, and Aina had been lonely in the few weeks she had been gone. The kids at school chose to ignore Aina due to her odd looks: natural red hair and green eyes were not commonplace in Japan. Aina had been asked more than once if she was American; explaining that she had no idea because of her adoption did not help matters.

"Here we are, dear! Right where I said we would be if we took that bus route," Aina's father said. He held out a map, ragged in more than a few places and coffee stained in most. The map was upside down. Aina chose to let him think he knew what he was doing, and began to walk toward the entrance to the shrine.

"Come on, Dad, lets get this over with," Aina said, stepping onto the holy ground.

A buzzing started in the back of her head, humming like a bee in the base of her skull. Aina tried to shake off the uncomfortable feeling, but it only grew as she and her father walked farther into the shrine's open courtyard. Aina's father looked at her curiously when she stopped still a few feet from the base of the shrine stairs.

"Are you okay, my dear?"

"Fine, fine, Dad," Aina replied, deciding to ignore the uncomfortable feeling. What she couldn't ignore were the pink and blue lines, emitting a soft glow, that crisscrossed the entire walk-space before her. She felt irritated; she had stopped having these visions for years.

For as long as she could remember, Aina had seen lines like these at nearly every shrine they had visited. Some were differently colored, but all had a pink over theme. Aina had attributed it to the glare of the sun on the stone, but she knew that wasn't right. She had always seen strange things no one else saw.

Once, when she was very little, Aina had seen a man with angled wolf ears. His hat had fallen askew, and she had glimpsed furry grey ears gracing his head. At first, she had been dumbstruck. Then, with the tact of every four year old, she had approached the man and asked if she could see them again. He had stared at her nervously, and asked her what she was talking about. Aina had motioned to her head, patting the spot where the ears had been on the man. That was when her father had swooped in and picked her up, apologizing to the man for 'the behavior of his social four year old.' The wolf-eared man had nodded, saying it was no issue, but had kept eye contact with Aina as she stared at him over the back of her retreating father's shoulder.

After that, Aina had seen the man several times more, often lurking in the shadows and watching her. She should have felt disturbed by this, but instead she felt safer, like he was watching over her. She made a point to wave at him whenever she saw him, and he had always smiled, revealing slightly pointed canines. He never aged.

Aina scuffed her worn tennis shoe across the lines, noticing that they were as amorphous as ever. She walked quickly to where her father was, not looking at the ground. He stood waiting for her at the top of the stairs, chatting amiably to an older man with a book of sutras in his grasp. Her father was gesturing animatedly around him. The old man was also gesturing, probably answering Aina's father's questions about the shrine.

Walking up to them, Aina smiled brightly, plastering a fake smile onto her face. She truly hated doing these tours, but she would do anything to keep her adopted father happy. Ever since the death of her mother, he had been withdrawing from the world, keeping his nose in a book. It worried Aina; she missed her mother too, but she had chosen to live instead of letting it weigh her down.

Aina had a simple, yet complicated, philosophy about life. She tried her best to move past the bad parts, and to live life to the fullest. Often she was accused of being reckless and foolhardy. She just sought to make new awesome memories, taking risks and feeling freedom through her actions. Aina would be the first one to skinny dip in the park pond, or jump into the roaring surf from a high cliff.

Right now, however, Aina would love nothing more than to be sitting in her favorite chair, curled up with a good book and a mug of piping hot green tea. She loved being with people, but also valued stolen moments of solidity. One of her favorite activities was to sit in the highest branches of a tree and make noises to disturb the birds.

Aina had a gift for mimicking the calls of various animals. She often used this talent to annoy her teachers.

"Ah, this here is my daughter, Aina! We tour shrines together in our free time," her father said, pulling her to him by the wrist.

The old man nodded approvingly. "My granddaughter, Kagome, has great interest in the history of our shrine. If you are truly interested, you can talk to her about it. I'm sure she would appreciate talking to a girl her own age. She's fifteen, how old are you?"

"Aina is seventeen going on eighteen soon," her father answered for her, smiling indulgently at her. Aina offered a small laugh.

Her birthday held little interest to her. Especially since it wasn't even known if it was her true birthday or not, her father just chose to celebrate the day they found her on their doorstep.

"Ahh, close enough! Kagome should be around here somewhere," the old man said, turning to look around him. Aina spotted the black haired girl at the same time he did. "Kagome! Come and meet this lovely young woman here," he shouted across the courtyard.

Kagome turned, and Aina noticed how pretty she was. She had delicate features that were open, lending her a feeling of compassion and kindness. The deep blue of her eyes hinted at an underlying strength and power that Aina respected. The black, silken fall of hair and shaggy bangs perfectly framed her face. Aina tried to ignore the pink aura that flared into life for a mere second when she made eye contact with the girl.

Walking beside the girl was a shaggy white haired boy of maybe a year or two older. His bright golden eyes flickered past Aina, and then shot right back to her. Aina saw a faint red aura surround the boy, and then disappear.

Kagome and the strange boy approached, both watching Aina curiously. She stood still, discomfited by the odd looks she was receiving from the pair. "Who is this, Grandpa?" Kagome asked.

"This is Aina Haro. She is only two years older than you," her replied. Aina noticed the old man trying to place a sutra on the back of the white haired boy. His subtlety didn't work, as the boy noticed and stepped away.

"Hello, Aina," Kagome smiled brightly, "It is very nice to meet you. I would give you a tour myself, but my friend Inuyasha and I have somewhere to be very shortly."

"Where do you –" Kagome's grandfather started, and then interrupted himself. "Ahh, never mind. You be on your merry way then, Kagome. See you later," he said.

"Goodbye, Grandpa! Nice to meet you, Aina and Mr. Haro-sama," Kagome said, walking quickly away with Inuyasha in tow. Inuyasha turned to give Aina a slit eyed look.

Aina watched the two disappear into the well house. A moment passed, and then pinkish purple light showed through the cracks in the boards of the rickety building. Aina felt an odd sense of familiarity at the lights.

Kagome's grandfather watched the young woman with surprise in his eyes. He had noticed the slight widening of her green eyes, and the parting of her lips, and knew that she had seen something that the others had not. Wondering at the strange girl, he turned back to her father. "We have a gift shop that has a book on the history of the shrine, if you are interested Haro-sama," he said.

Aina's father glowed. "Sounds excellent he said," walking to the gift shop with the grandfather. "Look around as you please, Aina," he said.

Saluting her father dramatically, Aina made a beeline straight for the well house. She wanted to investigate the source of that familiar light.

Riku watched the girl enter the well house from the well-concealed shadows in a corner of the building. He had been waiting for this moment for centuries, on the orders of his late master. Finally, all of the plans were coming to fruition.

Aina entered, and looked around the sparse interior. Riku noted her beauty, unsurprised that she was uncommonly good looking. His lord had said she would be stunning when she came of age.

The girl moved around the room, smoothing small hands over the edge of the well. The smooth unblemished alabaster of her skin made a stark contrast against the weathered wood. Riku watched her peer down the well shaft, leaning out precariously over the edge. It was time.

Riku shot out of the shadows, and Aina turned just in time watch the wolf hanyou, the man with the grey ears who had watched her for so many years, push her into the well.

Aina fell, and fell, and fell, and kept _falling._ Then she stopped falling, and started floating. It happened too fast for her to scream, but she wouldn't have anyway. Screaming was for pansies; Aina would have let out a full-blown shriek, a squall that would have shattered glass. _Fuck being a pansy; _the man who had been watching her had just pushed her down the well!

Suddenly, light. Pink and purple and blue swirls of mist surrounded Aina, cushioning her fall so that instead of falling, she was floating. The walls of the well had disappeared, and all she could see were the familiar mists. _The mists of time, _Aina thought absently, gazing around her. Stars seemed to twinkle in the hidden depths of the mists.

The familiarity of the misty lights gave Aina comfort. She had no idea why this was all familiar to her, but she caught glimpses of old memories: an herb woven basket, a cool evening, a flash of silver, and an opening door.

The gently swirling mists began to eddy in rippling designs faster and faster. Soon, they resembled a complicated pattern of lines and curves, weaving together to from a net of galaxies, intricate designs.

Aina was scooped up by the net and placed gently on hard ground. The lights disappeared from view, yet light remained.

Aina looked up into the bright sunlight shining down an old well shaft. Vines grew along the shaft, creating easy handholds to crawl out. Grasping them with shaky hands, Aina hauled herself up. The climb out of the dry well was arduous, and her shoulders cramped when she finally tumbled off the lip of the well onto soft grass.

_Grass? _

Scrambling up, Aina stared around herself with wild eyes. Surrounding her were trees, grass, flowers, plants, _a forest. _ Where was the shrine? Where _was _she?

The familiar sounds of bird's calls rang through the clear air, and the summer sun beat down on her bare shoulders. An unfamiliar landscape swayed and breathed and lived around her. She gasped, roughly breathing, trying to calm herself down. What had happened? Why was she here? _Where was here? Where was her Dad? _

A movement from down the grassy hill the well was on drew her attention. Aina watched an old woman with an eye patch and grey hair shamble up the hill. Aina's breath grew harsher as she began to hyperventilate.

The woman looked up and saw Aina.

"You must be from Kagome's time," she said, open surprise on her face. "no one here would wear something so revealing."

Aina stared at the old woman. "Kagome's time?" She rasped.

The old woman looked at her oddly. "Yes, Kagome is from the future. Are you as well, young girl?"

"How- how far into the future is Kagome from?"

"Five hundred years."

Aina fainted.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two **

Kaede huffed and turned back to the village. She was too weak to carry the girl on her own. She would have to get Inuyasha or Miroku to come fetch the small woman. _Preferably Inuyasha, _she thought absently. _Miroku cannot be trusted with an unconscious girl of such beauty. _

Entering the village, Kaede immediately entered her hut, where the group rested on the earthen floor, sharing the treats Kagome had brought among them. Shippo saw Kaede first, and immediately saw the look on her face. "What's wrong?" The small kitsune asked. At his question, Sango and Miroku looked up. Inuyasha and Kagome stood, and Kagome's hand tightened on her bow.

"A girl from the future is up there," Kaede said, breathing hard. She had moved faster than she should to get to the group faster. "She fainted. I need someone to bring her here."

Miroku shot to his feet. "I will rescue the poor girl!" He said valiantly, marching from the hut.

Kaede gave Kagome a look. Sighing Kagome turned to Inuyasha, "Go after him."

With a growl, Inuyasha hurtled from the small hut. The group heard a crash as Inuyasha collided with the lecherous monk, halting his progress. Miroku let out an indignant yell.

Kagome looked at Kaede, hands smoothing over the polished wood of her bow nervously. "The girl didn't happen to have red hair, did she?"

Kaede looked at Kagome in surprise. "How did you know that?"

"Uh oh," Kagome murmured, hurrying from the hut. "The girl has a very powerful glamor over her, and I caught a glimpse of a very strange aura. This could spell trouble."

When Kagome reached the well, Inuyasha was just picking the girl's prone body up from the ground. Miroku stood to the side, absently rubbing the knot forming on his forehead.

_Aina is her name, _Kagome recalled.

Aina's hair fell onto the ground, dragging like a red banner. Kagome picked up the hefty length of hair so it didn't track dirt into the vibrant tresses. Inuyasha noticed the kind action, and became surprised all over again at Kagome's instinct to help people. He was consistently amazed with her ability to trust easily and openly. Inuyasha himself didn't trust the petite redhead in his arms; she smelled funny. To an inu hanyou, that was a prime sensory description.

The group made their way backs to the village, reentering Kaede's hut. Inuyasha placed the girl on a cot. She stirred and moaned slightly, shifting the creaky cot.

Kagome watched the girl with a sad smile on her face. _She must be so confused and overwhelmed. I know I was when I first traveled here! _

"Now, explain how you know this girl, Kagome," Kaede said preparing soup for when Aina awoke. Kaede was sued to nursing people back to health.

"She was introduced to me at the shrine only a few minutes ago," Kagome said. "She had a strange aura, and Inuyasha said she smelled funny. I think a powerful glamor is placed over her. Whenever I look at her, my eyes want to skip away, and her aura is bound."

"Hmm," Kaede said thoughtfully while shooing Shippo away from the food. "The girl does appear to have a glamor placed on her. With your miko powers, Kagome, you should be able to remove it easily."

"But I have never seen such powerful glamor work! It must be covering up something really important to be this hard to be break," Kagome said. She had only been trained very little, and did not trust her powers to do something life this. "I can try, but I make no promises," she said resolutely, moving forward.

Inuyasha smirked. "Good luck with that."

Kagome gave him a poisoness glare. "Sit, boy!" she said with authority.

Inuyasha crashed onto the ground with bone-jarring impact. Snarling, he levered himself up; only to be commanded to sit again by Kagome. "Alright, alright, I get it!" he growled, glaring at the offending miko through his shaggy white bangs.

"Stay," she said, returning her attention to Aina.

Kagome bit her lip and lifted her hands, placing them firmly on either side of Aina's head. Closing her eyes to focus, Kagome drew her miko powers to her fingertips. Pink light suffused the room as the powers came to her call.

Aina groaned softly. The light grew brighter, and Kagome began to sweat. This task was getting increasingly difficult; so many threads of enchantment were attached to Aina, Kagome was having difficulty cutting them all. The glamor wound around Aina like a spider web, sticky strands encasing her mind in gossamer red and black threads. Kagome, determined to uncover Aina's true form, untied each complicated knot and cut through each whorl. The pink of her miko powers flickered, and Kagome began to moan.

_It's too much, _she thought. _I must keep going._

The glamor suddenly shattered beneath the pink light.

Kagome and Aina both screamed, Aina shooting upright on the cot. Kagome stumbled backwards, and Sango leapt forward to catch her before she fell. Aina scrambled from the cot, huddling in a corner, shaking visibly. "What did you do to me?" she whispered, staring at Kagome.

"What do you mean, what did she do to you? What did you do to her?" Inuyasha shouted, turning from the pale Kagome to face Aina. He opened his mouth to yell, but stopped. "What the hell?" he muttered, eyes on her head.

Everyone turned to look at Aina, and she back further into the corner. Suddenly, everything was clearer. She found new details she had never before seen: the rough stitching of the cot, the dust motes floating in through the window, the single strand of her hair against the floor. Sounds crashed through her ears, new notes she had never heard. Smells assaulted her senses, musty herbs and earthy ground. "What did you do to me?" Aina asked louder.

Kagome looked at Aina. "I removed your glamor," she said eyes flicking from Aina's head to a spot behind her. Aina shifted, suddenly uncomfortable to be sitting in her position. A long thick _thing_ poked her back. Shrieking, Aina turned, seeing nothing.

Muffled laughter sounded behind her.

Aina turned back around. "What's so funny?" she asked the source of the laughter.

A small red haired boy smiled toothily up at her. "You're afraid of you tail!" he said, giggling.

Aina stared at him blankly. _ Tail? _"I don't have a tail," she said dumbly, trying to gather her wits. This was too strange. Yeah, Aina loved a good sci-fi novel, but when it became _real _was a different matter.

"Yeah, you do," Inuyasha said, dog ears twitching.

_Dog ears! _

Aina stared at the twitching furry ears on Inuyasha's head. They swiveled, catching sounds that Aina could hear—

At that disturbing thought, Aina's hands flew to her head. Patting her wavy hair, she felt among the thick tresses for—_there! _Ears. Triangular, soft, felt-like ears. They perched among the thick waves of her red hair.

_Wait a moment. _Was her hair redder than before? It looked more vivid, like a dusty film had been wiped from it.

Aina braced her palms against the ground and whimpered. Her nails, once square cut, now more closely resembled claws. "Does anyone have a mirror?" she rasped.

Kagome smiled at the overwhelmed girl sadly. _She traveled through the well because she belongs in this world, _Kagome realized with a sudden burst of clarity. _She has a part to play in the past._

Reaching into her pack, Kagome withdrew a small handheld mirror. Handing it to Aina, she sat back. Aina grabbed the mirror with shaky hands, placing it face downward against the floor. She had to prepare herself for this; she knew she would look different, would look _changed. _

Ignoring the silence of the strangers around her, Aina moved her hair across her shoulders. The waves clung to her fingers, smoother and softer and shiner than they had been before. Aina sucked in a harsh breath, calming her nerves. _I may look different physically, but I am still _me, she thought. _Nothing can change who I am. Not ears, not a tail, nothing. _

_Nothing can change me, _she thought with finality, picking up the mirror. She brought the mirror to her face and looked at her reflection.

Her eyes were greener, the gold circle around her pupils brighter. Her hair was redder, she noted. Pink bow shaped lips parted on a soft breath, and Aina saw her small canines. Dangerously sharp. It was as if everything about her had intensified: colors, textures. Triangular ears graced the crown of her head, lightly curved and tipped in black. _Fox ears_, she thought absently. They twitched in accordance with each new sound. _The few freckles I had are gone_, Aina saw. Her skin was unblemished and smooth, porcelain.

Aina set down the mirror and reached behind herself hesitantly. She felt along her back, down to her tailbone. She felt the fabric of her jean shorts; and felt a bump in the cloth. The bump moved under her fingertips. Aina felt herself move it. She gulped.

Finally looking up at the people around her, Aina cleared her throat awkwardly. Everyone looked at her expectantly. "Anyone have a knife?"

Kaede huffed, and handed her a small vegetable cutting knife. Aina murmured her thanks and quickly cut a small slit in the back of her shorts. Her tail fit neatly through the gap. Aina barely spared the agitatedly swishing fox tail a glance; she would panic about this all later. Right now, she needed to find out where she was, and how to get back to her dad.

"Where and when are we?"

"The feudal era, Japan. This area is where the Higurashi shrine is in our time," Kagome answered. "Do you know what you are, Aina?"

Aina looked at her. "I'm myself," she said firmly, holding eye contact with the pretty miko.

"I know that," Kagome said, smiling. "But what you are is a hanyou, and something else. I can't quite see what," she said.

"I'm a half demon?"

"Well, not entirely," Kaede said. "You have demon blood for sure, with your looks, but you aren't full hanyou. One of your parents were a hanyou, the other was something else."

"I'm adopted."

"Well, that complicates things," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Be nice, Inuyasha!" Kagome berated the hanyou.

"Kitsune youkai blood runs thick in you, girl," Kaede said. "Better accept it quickly, before someone takes advantage of it."

_I can live with being part fox demon, _Aina thought. She knew her dad would love her no matter what she was. Most people would be greatly disturbed at the thought of demon blood running in their veins, but Aina had always been strange. _Being part demon is what I make of it, _she thought. _Demons don't have to be evil and cruel. I can be myself, and still be part kitsune. _

"Something else…." Kagome muttered, staring intently at Aina.

Inuyasha sniffed the air. "Yeah, I can definitely detect a little kitsune in there, but she smells like a miko, too."

Kaede whipped her head up. "Impossible," she said. "A miko and a demon hybrid?"

"Well, she smells like a miko, but it's different from Kagome," he said, exaggeratedly sniffing the air. "Her smell is more… wild that Kagome's."

Sango, the tajiya, spoke up. "Wild? What do you mean?" she flipped her shaggy black hair to the side, revealing sparkling brown eyes.

"Untamed, I 'spose," he grumbled. "I don't know how to explain it to a bunch of lack wits like yall!"

"Try," Kaede said dryly.

"Kagome's powers are more clean smelling—"

"Do I smell dirty?"

"No! Hell, let me explain would you? Anyway, Kagome's powers have a more simple smell. Holy and cleansing, I 'spose. Yours are more complicated, complex and moving. I can't get a fix on them, and I'm not sure I would want to," Inuyasha finished, arms angrily crosses over his chest.

Aina bared her teeth at the hanyou in an instinctual move, and Inuyasha snarled at the part-kitsune miko. Moving quicker than she thought herself possible of, Aina swiped her clawed hand at the hanyou. However he moved really fast too. He backed away in a split-second movement, but it wasn't fast enough.

Two inches of pretty, silvery white hair fluttered to the floor.

Everyone stared for a moment at the damning evidence. Inuyasha reached up hesitantly and pulled his bangs forward, perusing them with narrowed golden eyes. One side was a conspicuous two inches shorter than the other.

"Woman," Inuyasha growled, "I will rip your heart out."

Aina growled right back, her throat forming the unfamiliar sound with no issue. The response was instinctual. "Come and try, pretty boy."

Sango and Miroku broke into peals of laughter, with Kagome and Kaede following shortly after. "I like her!" Sango said, gripping her stomach. Miroku had no coherent response, as he rolled on the floor. "She's damn accurate!"

Inuyasha glared at everyone. "I am not a pretty boy!" he yelled indignantly.

"Are- are… are so!" Miroku gasped out. He motioned toward his own hair with one flailing hand, and then burst into a new round of laughter.

Shippo giggled, and used a kitsune trick to make a giant pair of scissors appear. They loomed ominously close to Inuyasha's hair. When the hanyou noticed, he shrieked and leapt away.

Sango and Kagome collapsed, their legs unable to withstand the weight of their laughter. Aina was in tears. Miroku was hyperventilating, and trying to crawl toward Sango and Kagome and Aina. His hand reached out.

Aina felt a curious sensation near her rear. Almost like-

"Hiyaaaa!" She screamed, kicking backwards. Unused to her new strength, due to her youkai heritage, she was immensely surprised when Miroku flew backwards out of the door. He hit the dirt of the road through the village with a loud thud. It sounded painful.

Sango began to cry she was laughing so hard. Inuyasha huffed, and shouldered his way brutally out of a doorframe that seemed to small for the broad shouldered hanyou. Stalking out, he picked the monk up by the scruff of his robes and threw him back into the hut.

Gradually, the group managed to regain some semblance of sanity. All in the room were red faced, although for different reasons. Inuyasha could not seem to tear his eyes away from the glittery locks on the floor.

Shippo scuttled over to Aina and crawled into her lap, never one to be shy. "I'm a kitsune too, see?" he said wriggling his fluffy tail. His green eyes were full of mischief. Aina was endeared to him immediately.

"I see," she said, nodding. "Are you a good kitsune?"

"Depends on your definition of the word 'good.'" Sango said. "He's a good kitsune in that he creates mischief wherever he goes."

Aina smiled at Shippo. "Excellent," she said. "Care to teach me how to be a kitsune?"

Shippo gleamed at her, "I sure do!"

Laughing, Aina ruffled his hair. She had a fondness for pranks, and from her classes at high school, she knew that kitsune were renowned for being mischief-makers. It seemed fitting that she be part kitsune. It felt right to her, like little else did.

Something Aina would never admit to any other soul was that she never felt like she was a part of anything. She had felt like an alien ever since she had become aware of the concept. She knew that she didn't belong among the mass of good students, or the crush of the delinquents. She was a good sprinter, good enough to be a legitimate jock, but she hadn't fit in with that crowd either. Even the artistic drama students had found her manner too odd to accept. She had never fit in, but here she felt better. In a time and place foreign to her, with strange hanyou and youkai and miko and humans, she felt like she belonged more than she had anywhere else.

It felt good.

Kaede gasped, and everyone looked at her. She only had eyes for Aina, however. The old woman let out a shaky breath and let her eyes drift a little to the right, purposely losing focus so the girl's aura could come into view. It burst into being, all gold and flickers of red. It was brighter than any other aura Kaede had ever seen, including Kagome's and Kikyo's. The golden miasma had a life of its own, moving in intricate designs all around the girl's figure.

Kaede blinked, regaining focus so she would not have to look on the powerful aura with disturbing realizations. "I recognize you, child," she said to Aina.

"How?" she and the rest chimed in all at once.

"A prophecy," Kaede murmured. "A foretold youkai and miko hybrid, with powers beyond what we have witnessed, that would be the mate of the white haired taiyoukai. It is said that she would vanquish the great evil."

"What do you mean," Inuyasha said, "vanquish the great evil?"

Kaede turned to the hanyou, a light in her eyes that none in the room had seen before. "Not Naraku, that is a journey you and Kagome must undertake. Her task is something more difficult, but it is likely that you will all aid each other's quests."

Aina had focused on a different aspect of what Kaede had said. "What do you mean by _mate_?" Aina frowned. "And 'great evil?' Please, be more vague, if possible."

"Each youkai, or even any being with a drop of youkai blood, has a true mate. They are born with an instant connection that can be seen in auras, and the connection spans across even death and time. A youkai knows instantly when he or she has their mate," Kaede said, nodding sagely at Inuyasha, who blushed furiously.

Kagome gave Inuyasha a confused look. "What is the great evil that was spoken of?"

Kaede shrugged. "I don't know. I know only that it is the task of Aina and her mate to vanquish it."

Aina snarled, "What mate?!"

"The silver haired taiyoukai," she replied. Aina wanted to scream in frustration about the old woman's cryptic answers.

"Does anyone know a silver haired taiyoukai?" Aina asked, turning to look at the group.

Cricket. Cricket. Cricket.

Aina raised one eyebrow. "Is that a yes or a no?"

"It's an unhappy yes," Miroku started slowly. Sango nodded in agreement. "A very unhappy no."

Frowning, Aina asked, "Is he mean?"

Shippo shivered. "Try cruel, or evil. Mean isn't a good enough word."

"Is anyone going to say his name?"

Inuyasha smirked. Kagome gave Aina a sad smile. "He deserves her," Inuyasha said. "He deserves the hell storm barreling in his direction."

Kagome hit him upside the head. Inuyasha growled, but stayed silent.

Kagome made eye contact with Aina, blue meeting green. "We do know a silver haired taiyoukai. He's Inuyasha's brother."

"Is he as annoying?"

Laughing Kagome said, "I don't think so. I have never had a real conversation with him."

"What's his name?"

Inuyasha stood straight up, and his ears perked. He sniffed the air, and snarled deep in his throat, differently from all the other times he had snarled in the last hour. "Sesshoumaru," he snarled.


	4. Chapter 3

** Okay, ya'll. This is the first time I'm actually addressing my readers. I would like to say a big thank you to the two reviewers who have said something about my story! I love reviews. Two have made me thoroughly addicted. Anyway, feel free to supply constructive criticism or correct my spelling of some of these words. I'm not only American, but I'm from the South, so my grasp of Japanese spellings is less that zero. So, love ya'll, I'll update as soon as possible. Thanks for reading! **

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't make money off of it. **

* * *

**Chapter Three**

The amulet was glowing.

Sesshomaru gave his full attention to the amulet immediately. His ice gold eyes perused the object, looking for cracks or abnormalities. None. He extended his taiyoukai senses, but sensed no enchantment or residual demonic aura around the amulet. None had tampered with his amulet to cause it to act so.

With dangerously clawed hands, Sesshomaru held the amulet up. The Sakura blossom shone where the receding sunlight hit the precious metals. Golden eyes narrowed, slit pupils expanded, as Sesshomaru examined the amulet. It glowed softly with a faint purple light, and hummed with a distinct magical edge on the rim of his consciousness. The small medallion hung from a chain that had been around his neck for over seven hundred years. Sesshomaru had never removed it.

Judge, jury, and executioner. Sesshomaru had played all three roles without hesitation since the day he came of age. He had eschewed all social contact to become the ruthless killer he was. He had never mourned that loss, and he still did not. However, a new realm had opened before him, with the awakening of a simple amulet. To have a companion for the rest of his very long life was not an unwelcome prospect. It was also imperative to have an heir to the Western lands; he had no wish for his mother to take over should he die. It was vastly unlikely that Sesshomaru would pass anytime soon, but he preferred to prepare for all possible situations.

Sesshomaru was the undisputed Lord of the West. None would dare to challenge his claim on the western lands and its inhabitants. He had never paid much heed to the inhabitants. Their safety was second to his wants and desires, and he often removed such obstacles ruthlessly, with a calculated slice of his sword. He never wasted energy on executions. It had earned him his fearsome reputation, one well deserved.

With no effort, Sesshoumaru snapped the thin chain holding the amulet around his neck. Holding the amulet aloft, he turned in a circle, slowly. When he faced direct north, the amulet's glow intensified, and the vibrations increased. The mutt's village was in that exact direction.

Sesshomaru turned to his steward, Jaken. "Take Rin and Ah-Un to the trees," he said, not waiting to see if his order would be followed before he began walking north.

"But, milord!" the toad-like Jaken said, flapping his arms exaggeratedly.

Sesshomaru stopped. His head turned slightly to the side, cutting eyes filled with blades to where the fearful steward stood. The red markings of his heritage peeped through long strands of silvery white hair, and they pulsed faintly. Jaken's bulbous eyes popped open, and he squeaked, fearing for his life. "Do not presume to question me Jaken," Sesshomaru intoned in a voice that could freeze flame.

"Never milord! I would never," Jaken said hurriedly, avoiding his imminent death. For today. The toad-like youkai rushed the human girl, Rin, onto the back of the two-headed dragon Ah-Un. He immediately hopped on afterward, taking the reins in two green-skinned hands. "We go, just as you said, milord!"

Sesshomaru turned, attention already elsewhere. As the large dragon took off into the sky, he purposely did what he never did. Sesshomaru recalled the memories of his father, and the moment he had given him the amulet.

* * *

The pregnant woman lumbered through the garden. The basket she was carrying was balanced precariously on one shoulder, steadied by one hand. The other hand rested on her swollen belly. Normally, a woman as pregnant as she would not work, but her family was already on poor ground with the Lady of the West for sheltering the kitsune hanyou beneath their roof. Akemi blushed to think of it.

The silken kimonos in the woven basket needed to be set out to dry on the line, and quickly, before the silk wrinkled. Akemi stepped up her pace. The Lady of the West rarely stooped so low as to personally berates human servants, but the guards she ordered to punish them were not so challenged. Akemi shivered, thinking of the crisscrossing scars adorning the backs of some of the servants employed by the Lady.

As Akemi walked, lost in thought, a silver blur whipped by at dizzying speeds. The blur bumped into the pregnant woman, and Akemi watched in horror as the ground rushed up at her, face first.

The ground ceased to move. Akemi blinked, confused, before she felt herself being hauled into a kneeling position by claw tipped hands. _Youkai, _she thought with fear.

She raised brown eyes, to be met with gold ones, slit pupils opened wide. White hair, silvery in the light, gleamed like silk where it lay pooled on the ground. The red slashes and crescent moon markings of the young lordling caused Akemi to nearly faint.

The fallen basket of silken kimonos was instantly forgotten.

Sesshomaru had been running carelessly through the gardens, for no other reason than but he could, when he had knocked over the pregnant servant. In any other circumstance, he would have kept on his way, uncaring that it was more than likely that the woman would lose the baby to the fall. It had been a scent, he realized, that had made him turn and save her from the fall. It had entered his senses, and he was quite sure it would never leave.

Vanilla and fire flowers, Sesshomaru had decided. That had been the scent. The sweetness of vanilla mixed with the warm spice of the flowers that phoenix horded to line their nests. It had curled around him as he brushed by the woman, and it had beckoned him to save her from the fall.

Sesshomaru leaned closer to the servant, sniffing her sweaty neck. The servant whimpered in fear, and would have drawn back but could not do for the tight grip the lordling had on her shoulders.

Musky human, earth and weakness. A faint hint of jasmine. Sesshomaru pulled back. The scent had not come from the woman.

Sesshomaru sniffed the air delicately, trying to discern the source of the alluring scent. A hint of it, right there. He followed the trail, as a dog would he realized with slight amusement, to the stomach of the pregnant human. Pulling back in confusion, Sesshomaru looked from the servant's eyes to the swollen evidence of her child.

Was it possible that the scent he had caught was from the unborn babe? He had heard of this once before, but it had been because—

Sesshoumaru froze, and his markings pulsed. They did that so rarely, that Akemi was startled into a small squeak. _When youkai have high emotions, _she recalled the wisdom of her mother, _their demonic markings pulse. Always avoid youkai should this happen, Akemi, for death will be near. _

Akemi shuddered in fear, and placed protective hands around her belly. She knew escape was futile, but she would do what she could to protect her unborn child. The lordling watched her movements intently. He could smell the acrid sourness of the human's fear, but it was unfounded.

He would never harm the babe.

Sesshomaru lifted two hands, tipped with claws that could shear through metal and flesh, and placed them on the belly of Akemi. His hands curved around the swollen fixture possessively.

He looked into the frightened eyes of the servant woman. She shifted to draw away. "No," Sesshomaru said. "I will not hurt you."

Akemi whimpered when the lordling smoothed his hands over her. She jumped when she felt the baby kick.

The lordling smiled. She had never before heard an account of the stoic, cold boy smiling. His lips drew upward, and his face glowed, and Akemi could not help but think that the smile looked odd on his face.

"Mine," the young lordling declared with intensity.

The arrival of the Lord of the West was unheralded. One moment he wasn't there. Blink. He stood right behind his soon, looking at where the boys hands rested on the curved stomach of a pregnant, untrained miko.

"Are you sure." No questioning inflection. A simple statement.

"With all my being."

The great Dog General looked at Akemi, and his eyes glittered with awareness. Akemi knew, with certainty, that the Lord was perfectly aware that the babe within her stomach was half kitsune hanyou and half miko. He knew, and had probably known since the moment of conception, about the illicit affair. Akemi also knew he would never harm a hair on the child's head, but the hanyou father was a different matter.

Inutaino looked at his son, the one who held such a strong aversion to touch that he no longer allowed his own mother to step too closely to him, hold his hands over the unborn child. _This will surely complicate things, _the Inu Taisho thought with amusement.

"You will stop working immediately, and remain in bed until the birth," he commanded the servant. "You will be surrounded, day and night, with guards."

Akemi began to sob. Four guards rushed by, called by a simple touch of their masters demonic aura. Two stopped on either side of Akemi, while the other two rushed by her, in the direction of her village. The Inu Taisho may protect the bearer of his son's mater, but the hanyou that had committed the crime of her conception would be executed. Akemi sobbed with the realization.

The next morning, he was executed.

The kitsune hanyou, green eyes aflame and red ears twitching, gave Akemi one last look of affection. _I love you, _his eyes said, as a single slice killed him, a beheading. The head rolled. A singled tear trickled down Akemi's face.

She gave birth that night.

Her screams resounded through the entire royal quarter, and Sesshomaru awoke immediately. He waited outside the room she was in, expressionless. He was young, too young, Inutaino thought, watching his son, to lose his mate. _Not forever, _Inutaino reminded himself. He knew that the Sorceress had approached Akemi. He knew it was the girl child's only chance of protection from the wrath of his wife. She would stop at nothing to remove the girl from existence.

Inutaino looked up. The guards were gone. "Sesshomaru," he said, "return to your rooms. Do not come out."

Sesshomaru gave him a look that he recognized. He had seen it in the mirror. "Do as I say, " he snarled, "or the girl will die."

The future Sesshomaru would not allow himself to be ordered around so. But this younger version, a bare three hundred years old, was not willing to take the risk. He went to his rooms.

With a snarl, Inutaino stormed into the birthing room. The body of Akemi was still warm, but the air flowing through the open window would be soon to change that. Inutaino noticed that Miro, the servant woman's sister, was absent. Her scent was intertwined with that of the babe. He jumped from the window, tracking the scent. He followed it to the edge of the forest, where it as suddenly crisscrossed by the scents of his wife's personal guard.

Inutaino snarled, and used his superior speed to find the babe. Should he not find her first, his wife's guards would slaughter the child. Luckily, he located her before the others hunting her did. Miro was an obstacle quickly removed, and then on to the Sorceress. Once the Inu Taisho had ensured the safety of the infant mate of his son, he returned to the fortress.

Sesshomaru was awaiting him. He gave a look that chilled his father to the bone when he noted the absence of his mate. "Where is she?" he asked. Inutaino knew his son; the expressionless look gave away nothing, but hiss golden eyes were bleeding into red. "I do not sense her anymore," he said, voice rising. "Why do I not sense her?"

"She is safe, and that is all that matters."

"She is not safe unless she is with me!" Sesshomaru shouted. His markings had been pulsing steadily since Inutaino had returned, and his eyes were fully red. The black pupils, slit dangerously, did not move from Inutaino. His father was surprised by the outward display of emotion; his son was renowned for his stoic demeanor. The cold hearted lordling barely spoke to the youkai he would one day rule, preferring to hone his fighting skills or any other activity not concerning socialization.

"Your mother would have her killed, and you are not yet strong enough to protect her."

Sesshomaru glared at his father, every fiber in his being screaming for blood. She was _his _mate to protect, _his _to cherish. He didn't care that he was barely fifteen, physically. He could wait for the … other things that came with mating. Sesshomaru would happily rend his own mother's throat if it came down to her or his mate.

"She will return when she is of age," his father said. "You will just have to wait. I have this amulet here," Inutaino said, removing the Sakura amulet from a fold in his armor. "When your mate is returned, it will glow. You will know where she is using this."

Sesshomaru took the amulet. He left he room without a word. Sesshomaru never again spoke to his father, not in the next one hundred and fifty years. They spoke once, on his father's last day. All Inutaino said to his eldest son was for him not to kill his half brother.

Sesshomaru made no promises.

* * *

Aina's amulet was glowing. Kagome noticed first. "Why is part of your shirt glowing?" she asked, leaning forward.

Aina looked away from the tense Inuyasha to the circlet of faint purple shining through her shirt. _Can one thing not be normal today? _She thought, pulling her Sakura blossom amulet from under her shirt. Miroku gaped at her, and she chose to ignore it. "I don't know," she said, rubbing a thumb over the vine engravings. She had been found on her parent's doorstep with it around her neck.

"It smells like magic," Inuyasha said without looking.

It did seem to have a presence, Aina noted. The buzzing in the back of her head had intensified with the glow.

And… it was getting brighter. Rapidly.

"Why is it doing that?" Sango asked warily. She had no patience for demonic charms or such, or whatever the pretty amulet was. If it endangered her group, she would dispose of it.

"I don't know! It has never done anything like this before," Aina said. The purple glow continued to intensify as she spoke, and the buzzing until the little amulet jumped around her hand with the force of its vibrations.

Inuyasha stalked from the hut, moving with the inborn swagger confident men seem to have. "I'm gonna go see what Sesshomaru wants," he growled, disappearing from sight.

Kagome sighed and stood as well, "I'll go after him she," said. "Sesshomaru could rip him apart."

"You go, we all go," Sango said, accepting Miroku's hand up. "And I would never want to miss out on a battle!"

Aina stood as well. "I have very little knowledge of what I can do with these powers you claim I have," she said to Kaede. "But I know a little about fighting, and will help in any way I can."

"It is appreciated," Miroku said. "But we cannot invite you to an almost certain death. Sesshomaru is a cold-hearted, powerful taiyoukai."

"Let her do as she says, monk," Kaede replied. "Miko powers are natural things. She will learn on her own how to use them, and should the need arise, they will explode from her quite forcefully."

Miroku bowed to the older woman, who blushed slightly and then glowered. "As you say," he said, winking. Sango hit him.

Aina tucked the amulet beneath her thin cotton t-shirt once more and followed the strange ensemble out of the door. She felt lucky that they had welcomed her into their group so easily; a few rough starts had been necessary, but she felt at home. She lifted a hand to examine her new claws, and then turned to watch her tail swish slowly back and forth. _I definitely fit in here, _she thought with amusement.

A blaze of green light shown above the treetops, illuminating the forest as evening set. Kagome gasped and began running, the band following her. Aina began running also, and quickly outstripped the humans, Shippo barely keeping up with her. She followed the sound of Inuyasha yelling to a clearing.

Inuyasha stood in the middle, his shoulders bowed in a clear defensive position. Blood dripped from his side, but he hardly seemed to notice. His gold eyes blazed as he stared at another figure in the clearing. The other figure captured Aina's full focus immediately.

He was tall, and lithely muscular. Extremely long white silver hair trailed nearly to the ground and flowed in a slight breeze, blowing back from his sharply angled face. Cheekbones like blades, decorated with red markings, and a high violet crescent on his forehead. Large gold eyes were narrowed on Inuyasha, but they turned to Aina with startling speed the moment she entered the clearing. The whip, toxic green and long, lay coiled on the ground, dripping like a poisoness snake from his palm. As Aina watched, the arm sleeve of his white and red Sakura blossom robes filled out, gaining a definite shape. His expression did not change.

With his arm, the one not holding the whip, he reached into the tie at his waist to remove a sword from the scabbard dangling there. This made Inuyasha growl, "When did your arm grow back?"

The other man did not answer, just blinked. "You have what is mine," he said, his deep voice like the clean edge of a blade sliding over the thin skin of Aina's neck. But she wasn't afraid of the intimidating figure. She knew she should be, but her breathing was even and her gaze steady. A formerly small, now very large, primal part of her brain was telling her that this… man did not seem like the correct term, would protect her.

"Inuyasha!"

Aina turned her gaze from the youkai to look at Kagome. She was breathing hard as she ran into the clearing. "You're bleeding!"

"I'm fine, woman!" Inuyasha yelled at her. His attention diverted for the moment, and so the miniscule threat he represented to Sesshomaru avoided for the moment. Aina watched Kagome hurry over to the inu hanyou and pat at his side, where his own blood mixed with the red of his robes.

Kagome gave him a look that withered roses. "You're bleeding, you idiot! You are most definitely NOT fine!"

"I'll heal," he grumbled as Kagome tried to pull away his robes.

"As appreciative as Inuyasha would be at a pretty girl attempting to remove his robes, the bigger deal here is the threat hanging directly over our heads," Miroku said sagely, earning him two glares,

Kagome, with great tact, turned and snapped at Sesshomaru, "What do you want? You go to great pains to avoid us, why are you here now?"

"It's a bit obvious," Sango murmured to Miroku.

"You have what is mine," Sesshomaru responded. "Hand her over or die."

"No," Kagome chimed in at the same time that Inuyasha said, "No problem."

"Inuyasha!"

"She cut my hair!"

"You deserved it!"

"Woman, I-"

Aina asked Miroku and Sango, as the fight went on, "Do they do this often?"

Miroku laughed, "Yes, and at such opportune times as well."

"If she has annoyed you so greatly, then all the better. Give her to me, or I will take her. It matters not," Sesshomaru said.

"Wait, who exactly does he want?" Aina asked.

"You," Inuyasha snapped. "Who knows why, but he deserves you!"

Aina snarled at the inu hanyou. "Pretty boy, you should be lucky I can't use my powers!"

Inuyasha smirked, "What, you gonna shock me?"

Aina, now furious, stalked over to the hanyou, and Inuyasha's gold eyes widened. She felt the warmth gathering in her palms, but it was too late to stop it. The gathering power felt almost electric. When Aina looked down at her hands, she could see gold markings covering her arms and legs. They pulsed with each beat of her heart. In the center of each palm, electric gold was swirling together, throwing off sparks.

Aina laughed. She felt _alive! _

"Her demon marks are surfacing," Miroku said hesitantly.

"Impossible, no hanyou can do that! I had to revert to be able to, and she isn't even full hanyou! She's a fourth!" Inuyasha said.

"It must have something to do with her miko powers," Kagome said.

"Whatever it is, it feels _fantastic,_" Aina whispered. She knew Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had heard her when their eyes narrowed on her.

"Put that away and come with me," Sesshomaru said. His voice was liquid deep death, dark and mesmerizing.

"Why should I?" Aina asked. "I don't know you, in fact, I barely know them," she said, gesturing toward Kagome and the rest of the gang. "But, they don't order me around and declare 'mine, mine' like the seagulls from Nemo."

Sesshomaru stilled. His eyes hardened into sharp golden knives. "Who is this Nemo that presumes to claim you?"

"He's a fish from a Pixar movie," Aina said. "Not an actual person."

Sesshomaru, when confronted with strange vernacular from the twenty-first century, simply inclined his head half an inch. He could hunt down this 'Nemo' later.

It would never show on Seshomaru's face, especially not in front of his despicable half brother, but he was very pleased with his mate. Visually, she was the most stunning creature he had ever laid eyes on. Sesshomaru had had his fair share of bed partners during the interim of finding his mate, yet they had simply been a means to an end. One night to ease the tension, and he was gone directly afterward. His little mate, however, he would enjoy endlessly.

Her vivid red hair curled and waved almost as long as his own, reaching her hips. He couldn't help but to notice the way the ends curled around her slim hips enticingly. The green eyes were large in her heart shaped face, colored like pale green crystal. Gold rimmed her pupils, forming a starburst into the green. A smattering of freckles decorated the high, prominent curves of her cheekbones and across the bridge of her nose. The demon markings cutting in bolts across the highest point of her cheekbones pulsed with gold light, the color of his eyes. He found the color quite fetching on her. A small, upturned nose was perched above perfect, lush pink lips. Her jawline was straight and slightly defined, ending in her pointed chin. Sesshomaru appreciated the utter feminity of her face, as it complemented his own masculine strength perfectly.

The utter lack of modesty in terms of her clothing angered Sesshomaru. He had seen the lecherous monk cast her more than one glance since they had entered the clearing, and Sesshomaru resolved to rip his eyes out at the soonest convenience. After, that is, he dressed his beautiful mate in a concealing kimono in his own colors. Sesshomaru was having trouble concentrating on his half brother as both the scent of his female, vanilla and fire flowers, and her beauty distracted him. He had no patience to deal with his half brother's ragtag group of vigilantes when he could be getting to know his mate.

Aina had noticed Sesshomaru checking her out. His eyes had barely moved, but a certain warmth had entered his eyes, and Aina didn't dare to think about what it meant. She knew a blush was suffusing her face when Kagome gave her a knowing look.

"I know, right?" she said. Aina laughed, totally understanding what the other girl meant. Even though Aina felt utterly possessive of the strange male before her, she could not fault the midnight-haired miko for appreciating his pure masculine appeal.

Aina's husky laugh sent Sesshomaru over the edge. "We leave. Now." He was in front of Aina in the space of a breath, clawed hand manacled around her slim wrist.

Aina's powers sparked, and Sesshomaru hissed, drawing his palm back like quicksilver. His golden eyes narrowed on the scorch mark marring his flesh, and he looked into Aina's eyes. He was less than a foot from her, the fur of the pelt slung over his shoulder brushing her bare arms. Aina could not suppress a slight shiver at the small contact.

Interesting. Her miko powers repelled even the Lord of the West. However, Sesshomaru noticed, when she had shivered at their small contact, her demon markings had dimmed, and the power coalesced in her palms had stuttered. He smiled on the inside as a hypothesis began to form. Deciding to test this, Sesshomaru stepped closer to the red haired miko.

Aina shuddered. With each of her rapid breaths, her breasts brushed up against the inu youkai. _He's so close, _she thought. If she truly wanted, it would be so easy to lean over and brush her lips over his. Then, he rumbled, a sound too deep to be a purr and too… sensual to be a growl. It was a deep vibration that rubbed against Aina's senses.

Aina's powers shut off like a switch had been flicked. She had one moment to think _oh shit _before Sesshomaru threw her over his shoulder like a caveman and darted from the clearing.


	5. Chapter 4

**Love my reviewers! Ya'll are fantastic. Sorry for the confusing perspectives! i'm trying to write better with the whole 3rd person deal. This is a short upload, the ending was just too perfect to drag out. Warning: visual lemon. Real lemons will come later though, for you horny bastards out there. Thanks for reading, please review!**

* * *

Despite the fact that her butt was in the air and she was dangling over his back like a sack of potatoes, the ride wasn't bad. His smooth gait kept her from getting knocked around, and the measures he took to avoid any obstacles ensured her relative comfort. The most annoying apart about the whole thing was the fact that it was occurring in the first place.

"Bring me back!" Aina yelled indignantly, hitting the muscular back on the inu youkai. She tried to ignore how her hands wanted to open and smooth themselves over his broad muscular shoulders instead of striking him.

"No."

Aina screamed in frustration. Really, he had been running from the gang for nearly twenty minutes. He had outpaced them, say, about nineteen minutes and thirty seconds ago. She saw no reason for him to not set her down so that she could walk, or more importantly, escape.

Sadly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to escape. Aina felt drawn to the imposing youkai. Almost like two magnets.

"At least set me down!"

"No."

Aina wriggled, trying to escape his indomitable grip. His hand didn't slacken from their place securing her knees. However, his other hand _did _come up and spank her jean-clad butt, which was offered to the air by her position.

"Silence that infernal noise," he said when Aina let loose a truly glass shattering shriek.

"Then don't _spank me!" _

"I see no reason why not."

"You have no right to touch me!"

"Only I have any right to lay a hand on you," he responded. Aina was positive he was amused.

"I would have to disagree with that!"

"I am sure I could convince you otherwise," he responded arrogantly.

Aina slapped his shoulder. "Your arrogance is stunning!"

"As are my physical attributes."

This was gonna be a long night.

Eventually, Sesshomaru stopped. Aina moaned in delight when she saw the steam rising from a natural hot spring. She would gleefully commit homicide for her shampoo and conditioner. It was pure, dumb luck that she still had her backpack from the shrine visit, filled with useful items like deodorant and tooth care products. Her father had planned to stay at a little hotel nearby, because of its historic significance or something like that. Of course, the pack was a little worse for wear, having been tracked all over the woods and through a time traveling well. Beggars couldn't be choosers, however.

Sesshomaru sat Aina down, letting his hands drag along her sides unnecessarily. Aina shivered. "That wasn't necessary," she said, brushing his hands off.

Sesshomaru said nothing, just stared at her disconcertingly. Slightly uncomfortable with the intent stare, Aina plucked her backpack from her shoulder and set it on the ground, intent on taking a long soak.

She realized very quickly that she had no clothes that would be deemed appropriate in this day and age. All together, she had three tank tops, one skirt, and two pairs of jean shorts. Two bras and five pair of underwear huddled in the bottom of her pack. _I'm gonna get real sick of lace, really fast, _she thought, looking at her pretty underwear. Already, she was uncomfortable from all of the exertion, causing her panties to twist up. Picking wedgies was just such an unattractive thing to do, but it looked like she was stuck with it for the moment. At least her tank tops were more activity centric, with mesh material to wick away sweat.

"I'm gonna take a bath," Aina said to Sesshomaru. He hadn't moved his eyes from her; she had felt his burning gaze on the back of her head. "Turn around so I can change."

He didn't move.

"Please?"

"You are my mate. Nothing you have will be hidden for long."

"Okay, after I soak in a bath, we need to discuss that. Since you aren't going to listen to me, I'm gonna go change over there," she said, pointing to a large outcropping of rocks. "Stay here, I'll know if you're watching me."

"I do as I please." His eyes were like hard chips of golden ice. His entire demeanor was cold and indifferent. Aina knew, could already tell in the short hour or so that she had known him, that he truly was indifferent to the world around him in most aspects. However, she didn't think he was to her. When he looked at the gang, his expression gave away nothing. When his gaze turned to her, it had warmth in it. Aina had to believe that he felt; she didn't know why, but it meant everything to her that she could make him feel something, anything.

Aina snorted, "You know what, go ahead and look. But don't expect me to be cooperative if you do."

"I did not expect it anyway."

Glaring, she said, "Well, then don't expect me to welcome any touching." It was a bold move, and she knew it. Aina wasn't even positive that she was his mate, or he was her mate, or whatever. But, from what she had seen in the way he looked at her, he really wanted some physicality to happen.

Aina wasn't innocent. She was a virgin, no doubt about it, but she had some experience with boys. Even total outcasts got some action if they truly wanted it. She knew when a guy was checking her out, wondering what she would be like in their hands. Aina was an expert at flirting, and she knew how to manipulate Sesshomaru into giving her some direly needed space in the hours to come.

His response was unexpected in the sense that it was an obvious male response.

"I can make you want it."

"Can NOT!"

He just gave her a half lidded look. The fringe of his eerie white eyelashes sat low on the gold, a striking combination. His full lips had no quirk of amusement or smugness, yet Aina knew it lurked in the depths of his eyes.

"Stop laughing at me," she said angrily. "I'm going to take a bath now. Stay away!"

Turning with a huff, Aina stomped her way over behind the rocky outcropping. She stripped quickly, wanting to avoid getting goose bumps and… yeah, well, other things that happen when a girl gets cold. She flung her clothes onto a dry rock, and slipped into the steamy pool. The water was blazing hot, and Aina moaned in happiness, sinking into the water. The water came up to just above her hips, lapping at her hipbones in the small waves she had rustled from the still water. Her hair dangled into the water, and she knew it would curl magnificently. Curly hair just acted that way sometimes; it was either stunning, or a monstrous mound of frizz.

Aina sat on a low shelf in the pool, sinking down until her face was nearly submerged. Her thought quickly consumed her.

She didn't know whether she wanted to get back to the group, or stay with Sesshomaru. She was drawn to him, but something told her that she needed the ragtag gang too. The 'great evil', or whatever Kaede had been talking about, was a daunting prospect. What could she possibly do to stop some great evil? She couldn't even control her powers! She had no idea what she was capable of. Aina had scorched Sesshomaru, but that was the first time she had done anything like that. _The glamour that his my ears and tail and dulled down my hair and eyes and senses must have hidden those powers too, _Aina realized. Or maybe the presence of Sesshomaru had brought them to the fore…?

Sesshomaru. He was the most gorgeous being she had ever seen, and undoubtedly the most coldhearted. The way he had looked at Inuyasha and Kagome and the others… Aina shivered in the hot water. She _never _wanted to be on the receiving end of that look. Like he would just as soon kill them as associate himself with them.

Aina believed that he truly had no care for whether someone not useful to him lived or died. His cold indifference was a stark contrast to Aina's passionate involvement in everything around her. She actively participated in life, whereas Sesshomaru seemed to move around like a ghost, until something caught his interest. Whether or not it was good or bad, Aina seemed to have caught his interest.

_If I'm his mate, what exactly does that entail? And why does he care? _Aina thought. Did mates have an actual bond, or was it just a sex thing? If it was anything more, Aina couldn't picture Sesshomaru caring enough to pursue it. Maybe it was a possession thing; he only had one true mate, so he would get her.

Aina's attention turned to her differences. She fingered the curling ends of her hair, noting the new glossiness and he vivid shade. Where once had been a frizzy, orange mess, no resided a curly blood red blanket of hair. Her senses gave her new information about the area around her; the small lilac flowers exuding a delicate scent, the rustlings of creatures in the forest, each individual star in the sky. Her superior strength and speed differed greatly from her time with the glamor. Aina's eyes glowed with their green light, brighter than before. The gold circle surrounding her pupil formed a starburst shape into the light green.

Aina extended her senses. She flushed when she caught the scent of Sesshomaru, an intoxicating mixture of crushed pine needles and raw power. The scent did uncomfortable things to her body, and she shifted in the water, rubbing her thighs together.

"You called for me?"

She hadn't even heard him move, and suddenly, he was crouched by the edge of the pool. His golden eyes narrowed, but didn't leave hers. His nostrils flared as a breeze pushed his silvery hair over muscular shoulders, and Aina flushed. She just _knew _he could smell her arousal.

"I-I didn't say a word," she mumbled.

Sesshomaru's eyes began to drift downward, and Aina squealed, quickly shifting her hair to cover her breasts. Luckily, the darkness and the water worked to conceal anything below the water. She was surprised that he had thought to look at all; a perverted guy just didn't assimilate with what she knew of Sesshomaru.

"Your scent."

"What about it?"

"You are in need of me," he said calmly, golden eyes flicking too quickly for her to catch.

Aina sputtered in realization. "I am NOT in 'need' of you!"

"Your scent says otherwise."

"Maybe so, but I don't want you! Go away!"

"You cannot command me, little miko. I do as I please," his insufferable arrogance stated.

"I'm commanding you to go away right now, _or else," _she fumed, beyond consequences. That was the difference between Aina and Sesshomaru: she leapt blindly with no forethought, whereas he spent time logically planning out every possible outcome.

"You have no power with which to threaten me."

Aina snarled. Unfortunately, for the moment he was correct. She had no control over any of her power. Her ears were plastered to her skull in annoyance at this fact.

Sesshomaru stood suddenly. "I will allow you to finish bathing. Then you will come to me," he said, turning to walk away. Then he stopped and angled his head to look back at her out of the corner of one slit eye. His sharply pointed, elfin ears speared through his mane of silver white hair. "My vision is not as poor as a fourth demon's, little miko. Even my detestable brother can see through the dark water."

Aina blushed furiously. _Damn youkai senses! _

* * *

Sesshomaru had been preparing a hearty stew with rabbit when the breeze had swept past. He had already been on the alert for any sign that he needed to go to his newly found mate, but this scent was totally unexpected. It would have annoyed Sesshomaru with its unexpectedness had it not been what it was.

The sweet scent of his mate's arousal brushed across his senses. He held still, disbelieving, before the breeze grew stronger and he smelled it again.

He didn't remember going to the spring. Suddenly, he was there. Her back was to him, vivid red hair clinging in wet curls to the damp skin of her back. His eyes traced each individual strand, the intricate designs against her unblemished skin capturing his attention. The curve of her shoulder blades pressed appealingly against her alabaster pallor. The dimples in her back and the curvature of her spine presented a landscape of shadows he wanted to explore, with his tongue. Sesshomaru's eyes moved downwards, following the path of her hair to where it clung to her slim hips. Farther down, his eyes easily pierced the dark water. Aina's rear curved in such a feminine way Sesshomaru fully hardened in an instant.

Luckily, his voluminous clothing covered his manhood. Skinny jeans would have been a nightmare at that moment.

Finally, the little miko caught his scent and spun around. She squealed in an annoying way and moved her thick hair to cover her breasts. Sesshomaru refrained from saying that the wet hair barely managed to conceal her surprisingly large chest. Why draw her attention to it when he could enjoy the image she presented? This was as his mate should be: clothed in nothing but water droplets and moonlight, the reflection of the crescent moon hovering in the dark mirror of the spring behind her. Satisfaction flooded the intimidating taiyoukai, but no expression crossed his face.

He listened to his mate babble as he inspected the surrounding area for danger. Seconds later he had ascertained that their was no danger, and also said something absently that angered his little mate very much. Her cheeks were enticingly pink, and with each movement her perky breasts shifted under the cloak of her hair.

Fortunately for the inu youkai lord, his fast reflexes allowed him to move his eyes in a movement so fast, his little mate couldn't catch it. To her, he had not looked away from her eyes, when he had actually been watching the sway of her breasts for some time.

A glint of red caught his attention below the water. Stunned, his eyes drifted down too slowly, and he was caught. The indignant screech of his nude mate brought his attention to her face.

Green eyes stared into Venetian gold. Sesshomaru was momentarily surprised by the passionate anger in her eyes. Did she truly feel as though he was impugning her right to privacy? _Surely not, _he thought. _She is aware of our stance as mates. _

Or was she?

Her clothes were decidedly foreign. Perhaps where she came from, mate-hood was not so easily recognized. Sesshomaru knew he could not offer the emotional bond most women yearned for; however, he was more than capable of physical bonding. His pulsing arousal was testament to that.

He stood from his crouch at the edge of her pool. Turning to go, he decided to give one last parting shot: "My vision is not as poor as a fourth demon's, little miko. Even my detestable brother can see through the dark water." From the corner of his eye, he saw her flush turn scarlet. Her breasts bounced in her angered floundering. As he began to walk away, Sesshomaru almost smiled.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4 **

Even in the far distant past, men were perverted creatures. Miroku was more of a standard lecher; the high school boy that said jokes girls pretended to be mad about, but actually found very amusing. The class clown who compared the elevator scene in The Shining to a girl's period, making everyone, even the teacher, laugh. Sesshomaru, however, was a totally unexpected font of perversion. _Well, _Aina thought, _he isn't perverted so much as… observant? _ He came off as someone who almost didn't have time for such silly nonsense as females. Like he had better things to do than deal with the flustering of a girl.

Aina frowned. Why did she care if he though her worth his time anyway? She didn't know him, didn't give a whit about whatever the heck a mating bond was, and most certainly did not care that he had checked her out!

_You're lying to yourself. _

Shut up.

Aina snorted and got out of the water. She was dripping wet, and had managed to put herself in a bad mood. And now she was realizing that she didn't have a freaking _towel. _The chill breeze was making the loss of heat from the spring more evident in very awkward ways as she shivered. Aina reached for her bag and ruffled through it, withdrawing a large t-shirt to use as a makeshift towel. She doubted the feudal era of japan had nice, cottony towels to use, so it looked like she was stuck for a while.

After drying off, Aina got dressed and braided her hair into one long tail. It drooped over the curve of her back and came to rest just under her butt. When wet, her curls were stretched out and her hair looked longer. Unfortunately, the dampness of her hair couldn't be helped, so the thick braid bled water onto the fabric of her shirt.

As Aina stood there, pack slung over her shoulder, feet bare against the lukewarm stone, and she looked up into the sky. A crescent moon, like the mark on her captor's forehead, shone down silver light from its blanket of stars. So many stars littered the midnight fabric of the sky, unobstructed by the light pollution of big cities. _I could grow to love this age, _she thought. The old trees, the curious creatures, and so many _stars…_ yeah, she could really like it here.

Her tail brushed against the bare skin of her leg and Aina shivered. She supposed it was strange that she wasn't afraid of all of the major changes going on around her. Between finding out she wasn't fully human, had magical powers she couldn't control, and was also part demon, Aina figured she might be handling things a little too well. She certainly deserved a good cry, or a temper tantrum. But the urge t do so was very low, because all of this felt so right. Like before, that swishing tail had been dearly missed, and now she was whole again.

But her feet still shuffled in indecision as she stood there, shivering under the crescent moon. Should she go to Sesshomaru? Or should she try to escape?

Aina considered her options. Sesshomaru was unpredictable; she didn't know him well enough to accurately predict how he would behave. His coldness contrasted sharply with how she herself acted, it was too odd for her mind to predict how he would act. Also, the whole mate thing being thrown around confused her. Aina wasn't totally ignorant of mating; heck, she had read plenty of fantasy novels back in the future. But how accurate was Twilight about this subject matter? Was it like real wolves, how they chose a mate to stay with for life? Or was it more like where it was a destined thing, where you just knew that person was your mate without any choice in the matter? Aina didn't know whether he had chosen her, or fate had put them together.

Escaping was another option she considered. Her sense of direction was pretty good, so she could probably find her way back to the others. Kagome was the only link that made sense, so going back to someone who knew how she had ended up in this time was helpful. Aina could slip into the trees right now and leave. She barely even knew Sesshomaru, and he was trying to pursue some weird mate thingy with her! Kagome had answers she needed. The question was whether she would reach Kagome before Sesshomaru found out she was gone.

Decided, Aina walked to the trees. The old giants loomed over her, shadows shifting in their branches as the breeze pushed through the dark limbs. Aina had some knowledge on tracking animals, and knew a few tricks to hide her tracks. She walked in circles and loop-de-loops to put her scent everywhere, and then crawled up the wide trunk of a tree. Climbing was a whole lot easier now, her limber muscles flexing and her sharp claws digging into the bark. Once she had hauled herself into the upper branches, she eyed the long, thick branch on the tree next to her. Aina bunched her leg muscles, coiled tight as a spring, and leapt. She had a split second of free fall, with her braid pulled into the night sky behind her, hands outstretched to grab the thick limb.

She was flying! For a very few short moments, the only thing between Aina and the earth was clear air. She had underestimated how powerful her leap was, she realized as she soared over the branch she had meant to land on. She traveled another ten feet before managing to grab onto a branch just above her trajectory. The breath rushed from her lungs in a great _whumf _as Aina scrambled up onto the branch. She threw a leg over and sat, straddling the rough limp in between her legs. She breathed hard to regain her breath, and then sat up into a crouch, preparing herself for another jump. This time, the jump didn't have enough power behind it, and Aina felt a moment of panic as she began to fall before her intended object. Her heart raced up her throat and she reached wildly with both hands for a smaller branch in front her.

Aina grabbed onto the branch with both hands, but her momentum carried her forward. She swung in an arc, the force causing her to release the branch and continue flying. Aina slammed into her intended limb, colliding with a force that would surely bruise her pale skin. Grumbling in annoyance, she hauled herself up once more and sat, panting heavily. _I just need to get the hang of this, _she thought. _Then it will be so simple. _Luckily for her, the large interlocking limbs of the trees of the ancient forest were relatively clear of small twigs and spindly branches. Otherwise, she would already be covered in scratches and bruises.

After nearly to hours of constant movement in the tops of the trees, Aina heard voices. A faint orange glow lit the trunks of the trees slightly ahead, and she smiled. That must be a campfire! Aina hoped it was Kagome and the others.

To increase stealth, in case it wasn't the others, Aina dropped silently onto the spongy forest bed. She tiptoed to the edge of the clearing and peered around the thick trunk of an old tree. A large fire squatted in the middle of the clearing, throwing off sparks and crackles as the burning logs popped. Some delicious smelling meat was skewered to sharpened stakes and held over the flames on a spit. A rotund demon with flaky gray skin was turning the skewer with a one hand, and picking at his teeth with the other. Short fangs, cracked and yellowing, dominated his moth. The oily depths of his eyes glittered dully in the firelight.

Another demon walked into Aina's field of vision. This one was tall and lanky, and much more humanoid than the other. The tall, slim boy had long, deep green hair. Nut-brown skin covered his lanky frame, and jeeringly bright yellow eyes glared from narrow slits at the stocky gray demon. He opened his mouth to speak, and Aina barely withheld a little gasp at the needle sharp points of his long teeth. They crowded in his mouth, an impenetrable wall of pearly white death.

"Where is the scout?" He hissed, nearly unintelligibly due to his teeth. The gray demon started from his slumped posture at the query.

"He left bout twenty minutes ago," the gray demon muttered sullenly. "How am I supposed to know where he is?"

"He was set to report back within five minutes!" The green haired demon snapped. "Go find him!"

"Not necessary, Thorn. I'm right here," said a voice directly behind Aina. She turned around and looked straight into the blue eyes of a demon.

The blue-eyed demon grabbed her around the middle, ducking down to place her over his shoulder in a fireman carry, and then shouldered his way into the clearing. Aina snarled and hit his back, banging her fist into the thick muscles. "Let me go!" she screeched right into his finely pointed ear.

"Okay," he smirked, and dumped her unceremoniously onto her butt on the floor of the clearing.

The blue-eyed demon stood tall, close to seven feet she would guess. Thick muscles and course hair covered his body. Shaggy black hair barely fell to his shoulders and across his forehead. The most interesting thing about him, though, was his scent: musky, with a hint of sandalwood.

He reached down and curled a lock that had evaded Aina's braid around his finger, and she slapped his hand away. Her continuous snarl gained volume when the other two demons closed in around her. Her white fangs were bared and her green eyes were blazing with fury as she glared at the encroaching demons.

"Look at those ears! I caught myself a kitsune!" The blue-eyed demon laughed, easily evading her slap.

"Not a full kitsune," Thorn said, looking her over slowly with those toxic eyes. "A taiyoukai has pointed, but human ears. She has both a tail and ears. She is either a hanyou or something even _less," _he said in a derogatory way.

"Maybe I'm something more," Aina said waspishly. She had to get away get away _get away_ from these demons! Her senses were going haywire with all of the negative feed they were receiving from the three demons clustered around her. She smelled danger, a peppery scent that stuck in her nose like a sneeze.

Thorn laughed. "We can make you something more, girl," he said, looking her over lasciviously. Aina's skin crawled wherever his detestable gaze landed.

The blue-eyed demon jerked at her ankles, putting her in a prone position on the ground. Aina growled and jerked, but was unable to escape his grasp. She realized with sickening clarity what these repulsive demons wanted with her.

As fury and disgust washed over her, light sparked.

Aina stopped trying to jerk futilely out of the tight grip. She recognized that feeling.

Thorn shoved her shoulders flat onto the ground, pushing down with slim hands. He leaned close over her face and whispered sulfurous breath over her face. "You may not like this," he murmured, "but you _will _cooperate."

"No!" Aina screamed, and spat in his face. Thorn reached incredulously to the slimy glob decorating his cheekbone and wiped it away. "You dare?" He screeched. "You are nothing to a full demon! Nothing!"

Thorn ripped open the front of her shirt, exposing the globes of her breasts encased in a black bra. Aina yelled, and her demon markings pulsed.

Thorn froze, and the blue-eyed demon and his grey skinned companion stopped positioning her ankles. "Was that a demon marking?" asked the grey skinned demon.

"Impossible," scoffed Thorn. He trailed a finger down the valley her breasts created. Aina screamed when his dirty claw touched her skin.

The demon markings pulsed, much more brightly, then flared into existence. The bolts of gold on her cheeks and arms matched the exquisite stripes curving around her sides and curling around her thighs.

Aina's body hummed with energy and power, and her scent of vanilla and fire-flowers grew increasingly stronger. Golden light coalesced in her palms, and Aina focused on the building heat in her hands. With an instinct she didn't know she possessed, she locked eyes with the grey demon and _threw _power at him with her mind. A bolt of gold lightning arced from her hand and slammed into the chest of the demon. The moment it touched him, he disintegrated into a cloud of black dust.

"She's a damn miko!" Thorn screamed hysterically.

The blue-eyed demon gazed at his purified companion and then looked up. "But she's part demon! Its not possible!"

"Put her down, now!" Thorn screamed. In a quick motion, he whipped a sword from a previously hidden scabbard slung around his slim hips. His long arm reached back and then whirred forward, intending to throw the blade so that it cut Aina straight across the neck. That was the moment that Sesshomaru melted from the shadows.

All movement stopped.

Thorn fell beseechingly to his knees, groveling in the ground before the Lord of the West. "Lord Sesshomaru," he breathed in relief. "Please, this miko came out of nowhere and attacked my companions and I! Please, vanquish this merciless creature!"

Sesshomaru looked down at the demon. No emotion shown on his face. "This merciless creature is my mate."

All of the blood left Thorn's face. His Adam's apple bobbed, moving as he swallowed down panicked gulps of air. Then he lifted a shaky finger and pointed toward his sole remaining companion. "It was him," he whispered harshly. "He wanted your mate's body!"

The blue-eyed demon roared in outrage. "It was the sniveling fool in front of you who ripped her shirt!"

Sesshomaru's golden eyes snapped toward his mate, who was huddled near the fire, panting heavy breaths. Sweat from the exertion of purifying the grey demon beaded her forehead. Sesshomaru's anger turned to cold fury as he glimpsed his mate's bared skin. She was _his, _and his _alone _to have relations with! And these grimy, infinitesimal being had _dared _to touch his beautiful mate!

With no sound, Sesshomaru grabbed the throat of Thorn. The demon gurgled in dismay, wide eyes locked on the taiyoukai's cold gaze. Sesshomaru, holding the gaze, let toxic green poison seep from his fingertips into the delicate skin of the demon's neck. The poison began to eat away at the skin, exposing raw pink flesh as the acidic liquid ruined his throat. With his other clawed hand, Sesshomaru reached down and sheared away the male's manhood, a spurt of blood following. Thorn screamed, and a blood vessel popped in his left eye. "For what you intended to do to her," Sesshomaru said coldly. He threw the offending member into the fire.

Then, he plucked the eyes, the toxic yellow orbs, from their sockets and crushed them between the claws on his thumb and forefinger. "For looking at what is mine," Sesshomaru said. With that task done. The Lord of the West used his free hand to grasp the hand of the other demon. One quick wrench, and a crack of bone signaled the removal of Thorn's hand. "For presuming to touch what is mine." This process was repeated with the other hand.

Thorn was breathing with difficulty through the ruin of his tracheal tube, which was being eaten away by the poison. Air whistled through his nose, and red blood bubbled at the corners of his mouth. Sesshoumaru threw the demon against the trunk of a tree. His spine cracked, breaking into several pieces, and Thorn slumped to the ground, dead.

The blue-eyed demon faired worse, for Sesshomaru had detected Aina's scent lay more thickly on his skin. Sesshomaru sheared the muscled, cleaving it from the bone a d letting it hang in meaty strips as he tortured the last demon. Once he was dead, Sesshomaru turned to his mate.

Aina was lying next to the fire, soaked in sweat and the black ash of a purified demon. Half lidded eyes watched the approach of Sesshomaru before she fainted


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry ya'll but this is a short upload. Made up for it with a little lemony stuff going on though! Loving the reviews! Keep at it! Sesshomaru is so difficult to write, he wants to resist me trying to describe him. Maybe its a guy thing, who knows.**

* * *

Sesshomaru hated emotion.

Yet, the … _feelings, _he supposed, roused within him at the sight and scent of his little red-haired mate. Odd impressions that nudged at Sesshomaru, inviting him to hold her more closely, to brush his long claw-tipped fingers through her hair. Feelings of tenderness were not entirely unfamiliar to the inu youkai. As an inu youkai, his natural instinct was to sleep in large groups. He was used to letting little Rin, his child companion, cuddle close to him. As the only other warm-blooded creature in his group, Sesshomaru found the instinct too difficult to resist. Sesshomaru had an instinct to protect Rin, and to keep her happy. He would not go above and beyond to do so, but letting her sleep at his side satisfied both his own and her own needs. The tenderness arose of her utter trust in allowing herself to sleep, knowing he would protect her from harm, and her total powerlessness.

What he felt for the kitsune-miko was different. Yes, the feelings of tenderness were there, but other feelings were there as well. Sesshomaru had felt fear and a cold fury like he had never known before when he had seen her laid upon the ground before those demons. And he had felt amusement at her antics in the spring, barely concealing a smile when he had not smiled for centuries. The fact that he was carrying her would have stunned most had they seen the sight. Ever since he was young, the silver-haired demon had resisted physical contact with all creatures. He felt no such thing toward the woman clutched in his arms. In fact, he would have liked to never release her from his grasp.

He looked down at his little mate, curled to his chest in his arms. His smooth walk kept her from awakening, although her fists still clenched the fabric of his haori, and her eyes moved beneath their lids. Black ash was smeared on her face, having stuck to the sweat gathered there after the purification of the demon.

Sesshomaru barely refrained from snarling. She should have had no need to purify the demon! Her foolish attempt to leave him had nearly led to disaster. He was here to protect his woman, yet she had felt the need to leave him? Was she afraid of him, or did she just wish to return to his detestable half-brother?

He would keep her. There would be no leaving, and no foolish notions of going back to Inuyasha and his ragtag companions. Aina was _his, _he thought furiously. His instincts clamored at him, pushing him to complete the mating bond, so that they would forever be connected. Sesshomaru pushed back at the urge, baring his teeth in strain. _Resisting the urge to complete the bond is difficult, _he thought. The sooner it was completed, the better.

Having reached their camp, Sesshomaru walked past the blazing fire and back to the spring. He would not allow his mate to sleep in filth.

He carefully laid her body on the edge of the pool, and stripped. He would bath her himself.

Sesshomaru unclothed the unconscious Aina, placing her clothes in a neat pile on the edge of the hot spring. He felt a tinge of amusement as he imagined her anger when she awakens to find herself clean. His mate, thankfully, was sharp-witted, and would know immediately that he had washed her.

He did not linger over her enticing curves; he wished too, but he would not violate the mate he had had for so little time. That would endanger his prospects of keeping her without argument. He had no doubt in his abilities to keep her by force. Normally, in any other situation, he would not hesitate to do so. But, for some reason that Sesshomaru refused to analyze too closely, he did not want to keep his mate by force. He wanted her to _choose _to stay with him. Should she not choose, he would use force.

A glint of metal caught his attention. Around her neck rested a medallion identical to the one lying among his things. The Sakura blossom, an intricate design of metalwork, laid in the hollow of her throat. Sesshomaru tapped the medallion with a claw, noting its resistance to the sharpness. _Who had given this to her? _He would ponder the query later, he decided. For now, she was more important.

Sesshomaru finished washing the black ash from her body quickly. The pulsing evidence of his attraction was becoming more evident, ad he had little control over himself after annihilating the demons.

Sesshomaru stepped from the water and picked up his clothes while holding Aina with one hand. His muscular arm held her along the curve of her spine, palm resting openly to clutch her upper thigh. Ignoring the soft flesh cupped in his palm, Sesshomaru walked back to the fire. He left her clothes huddled by the spring; they would be burned later. He would let no reminders of those repulsive demons be near his mate.

Reaching the campsite, Sesshomaru quickly and efficiently rolled Aina into his haori. After dressing himself, he pulled Aina to his chest and sighed in satisfaction. His clamoring instincts rested easier now that the scent of those demons was removed from her skin. His mate, finally located after hundreds of years, being clutched in his arms in front of the fire was certainly not detrimental to the satisfaction of his instincts.

The coldness in his gold eyes lessened as the fire flickered warmly in their depths. Languid warmth overcame him. After briefly checking the forest with sight and hearing for danger, Sesshomaru allowed himself to sleep.

* * *

Aina felt warm and cozy. She was stretched out on her side with one leg thrown over something warm, and her hands fisted in something long and silky. The dying embers of the fire warmed her back. An arm was curled around her waist, and a muscular shoulder rested beneath her head. A second arm, the one connected to that wonderful shoulder, held her possessively around her upped back. Aina smiled happily and sighed, her kitsune instincts totally content. They were at the forefront of her brain, feeding her happy feelings about this snuggling. Those instincts told her this was good, _very good. _They screamed at her: safety, warmth, protection, mate!

_Mate? _

Aina's eyes snapped open. Sesshomaru's face was nearly touching hers it was so close. His big body was curled around her; Aina hadn't realized how _big _he was! One of his arms was around her waist, and the other was back around holding her upper back. Aina's head was on the little space between his bicep and his shoulder, her face nuzzled into his neck. Her cheekbone grazed his jaw every time she shifted. One ankle was tucked into the back of his knee, but her other leg was slung over his hip, allowing a breeze up toward her—

_Why am I naked?! _

Sesshomaru's haori was wrapped around her middle, concealing only one breast and half of her hip and upper leg. Aina was frozen in place, trying desperately to find a way out of this predicament. Would he wake up if she shifted backwards? She didn't know if she wanted to risk his awakening. What if he was disgusted with how close she was to him, or ended up trying to get her to...?

Aina blushed furiously. He wouldn't _dare! _

_But, she was so comfortable… _Aina couldn't help herself. She wanted to never move, to sink into this moment and never resurface. His strong arms caged her in, and Aina shivered to think of the sheer power he exuded even when asleep. It had become obvious in the short amount of time she had been in the feudal era that her power far exceeded that of most demons. It was only her lack of control that had kept her from defending herself. Even when she had been in the future, Aina had sensed that she was stronger than the people surrounding her. The reason she did not date was because she needed someone who could handle her, who was strong enough to keep her pinned in place. The demon before her could easily overpower her, and that strength appealed to Aina.

Drawing in a nervous breath, she began to untangle her traitorous fingers from his silky hair. It was really quite beautiful. Perfectly straight, silver and soft, flowing through her hands like water. Aina couldn't help admiring the features of the demon male before her. The magenta stripes gracing his cheekbones accentuated the blade-like sharp quality, and led to his arched brow. A stripe decorated the upper lids of his eyes, and snowy white lashes hid his eyes from her view. She knew the color of them, molten gold like some ancient empire's coins.

Blinking away her momentary distraction, Aina began to withdraw from Sesshomaru's tight embrace. The moment she moved, the face she was watching so carefully shifted. Golden eyes snapped open and immediately directed laser-like focus onto Aina. Sesshomaru rumbled his displeasure, a deep thrum deep in his chest that Aina recognized from the clearing where he had taken her. Her arms fell limp and her lids fluttered as Sesshomaru drew her even closer into his chest.

Sesshomaru trailed his hand down Aina's side. He grasped her leg; warm flesh cupped in his palm, and hitched it farther over his hip. Aina's womanhood came into direct contact with the hard arousal hidden by Sesshomaru's remaining clothing.

Aina stiffened, then moaned at the hard contact. Her mind felt soupy, and her body vibrated with Sesshomaru's deep rumblings. She felt like something big was happening, but she couldn't muster the energy to move. That deep vibration was running through her body, inviting her to just hang on to Sesshomaru.

That was, she couldn't move until _he _did. Now that Aina's hot center was place exactly where he wanted it, Sesshomaru thrust his hips. His hardness slid over her perfectly, even covered with fabric. He felt his mate stiffen in his arms, and he sighed inwardly. Really, was it too much to ask her cooperation?

"What are you doing?! Get away!" Aina screeched, trying to escape his arms. They tightened perceptibly, drawing her flush to his entire length.

_I'm delusional, _Aina decided. _Sure, I like the idea of a strong male that can pin me down, but that must be my libido talking, because this ridiculous. Even though it feels sinfully good…. _

"Little mate," Sesshomaru muttered into her hair, nuzzling. "You do not want to leave."

"I do want for this to stop!"

"This Sesshomaru smells a lie."

_Third person? Really? Egotistical male! _

"I didn't know you can smell lies," Aina said, trying to buy herself some time before he—

A moan parted Aina's lips when he slid over her again. The rough fabric was very stimulating…

"I cannot."

"Then what did you mean when you said you could?" She could barely speak.

"I smell evidence pointing toward your arousal," he said before nipping the tip of one ear with sharp teeth. Aina gasped, her eyes shooting open at the sensory paradise. "Sensitive here, I see," he said into her ear, hot breath causing Aina to convulse.

Sesshomaru was positively gleeful with his mate's reactions. She was so responsive to his touch, gasping and moaning at mere teasing touches. He could hardly imagine the please they would bring each other during the completion.

Sesshomaru had always wondered what his mate would be like. He had expected a quiet and demure wisp of a woman, there to procure an heir and to follow his orders. This fiery creature in his arms was the furthest from his imaginings possible. She would not allow herself to be used as a breeder and ordered about. She would want to be in the thick of battle alongside him. The thought of his mate clad in leather armor, wielding a weapon as she fought by his side made him shudder in pleasure. Yes, she would stay with him. He would see that come to fruition. After copious amounts of training, of course. He would not allow her out of his sight until she had total control over her powers.

Aina squirmed, panting. Sesshomaru chuckled wickedly, then reached down and slid one long finger through Aina's slick folds. She whimpered and began pivoting her hips, seeking more of the pleasure he had to offer. Using his thumb and forefinger, Sesshomaru pinched the nub of her center. Aina unleashed a wild scream that reverberated off the rocky face surrounding their encampment. Birds flew in a rush from the trees into the brightening sky.

Sesshomaru smiled. Yes, his mate was very pleasing indeed.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Aina panted heavily, trying to catch her breath. What the hell was _that?! _One moment she had been trying to escape the cage of his arms, and the next she was having an orgasm. A certain meme of Will Ferrel popped into her head, but she ruthlessly shoved it away. The last thing she wanted to do at that moment was smile and give him the impression that doing something like this on the fly was okay.

At first, she hadn't recognized the rush of an impending climax it was so overwhelming. How could a demon-man-person-arrogant asshole like Sesshomaru arouse such reactions in her body? She wanted to smack herself for her traitorous screams of pleasure. She did _not _need to be receiving orgasms from the drool worthy, half naked, powerful—

_FOCUS! _That was not what she needed to be thinking about! She needed to be thinking about finding Kagome to figure out how she was here, who had put the glamour on her, why that person had done so, and maybe how to get back. Maybe, because Aina wasn't sure she wanted to leave the feudal era.

Kagome would surely have answers. Aina needed to find Kagome.

Sesshomaru slowly, sensuously licked the side of Aina's neck. He rumbled darkly at her intake of breath. "Release me," Aina snarled, fighting her body for control. She jerked in Sesshomaru's arms, but was not able to break through. She had been getting ready to yell at him, when he suddenly interrupted her.

"Do you submit?"

"What kind of bizarre, archaic male are you?" Aina screamed, furious. "Your idiotic claim to being 'mates', which I barely even understand, gives you absolutely ZERO rights to my body! Yes, I appreciate being saved, thank you very much, but taking advantage of me the morning after is not going to get you on my good side!" Aina was enraged with his attitude. If he wanted her, he would damn well fight for her! The fact that he thought he was entitled to her because of some invisible tether was ridiculous in her opinion.

Sesshomaru was stunned, though that would never show in his expression. His little mate truly did not know what they were to each other, which certainly complicated things. Sesshomaru believed his father had known about his little mate; the amulet had been testament to that theory. What was troubling was her lack of knowledge, and her sudden reappearance. Where had she gone for the past seven hundred years?

Sesshomaru clearly recalled the memory of her birth. He knew from the sparse information his father had shared with him on that night that the babe had been spirited away to preserve her safety. At such a young age, the lordling had not been able to protect what was his. However, Sesshomaru had still been bitter over the disappearance of his young mate. He had never had a chance to see her before she vanished inexplicably. Even her scent dissipated, and with her parents dead and aunt missing there had been no way to locate her. The only one with information was Sesshomaru's father, Inutaino, and he had been close-lipped. When his father died, Sesshomaru had lost all hope of ever finding his lost mate. He had turned to the lady youkais of the court, bedding every attractive woman he could. His mother had hoped for him to find a youkai woman to take as his wife, but Sesshomaru had never met one with whom he wanted to be stuck with forever. Most only wanted his title, precious few had valued anything else. Those few had simply seen him as a trophy.

Looking down into his mate's green eyes, Sesshomaru felt nearly giddy. Finally, after seven hundred years, his long lost mate had been found! Yet his joy was shadowed by doubt. Where had she gone? And why was she totally unaware of everything, even her heritage? She had a confusing scent; one that spoke of older things yet was incredibly young. He could make no sense of it.

Sesshomaru could think of only a few instances where a miko and youkai had mated successfully, producing children. One was nearly five thousand years ago, so he ruled it out immediately. Another had occurred nearly one hundred years ago, but he had seen the product of that union. A boy, immortal like his wolf youkai father. Incredibly annoying boy, as it was. The only other time had been around the time of Sesshomaru's childhood.

A hypothesis began to flit around the edges of Sesshomaru's mind. He knew, unbeknownst to his idiotic brother that the human girl he traveled with was from the future. This proved time travel possible and relevant. Perhaps, Aina had been born that night in the western palace and then sent forward to the future. But, Sesshomaru knew of no creature that possessed this power. Given the evidence, it was the most likely solution. It fit all of the issues: her disappearance, her mysterious clothes and argot, and her lack of knowledge. The amulet his father had given him also aided. It had been to find his mate when she was returned to a time in which she belonged. Yet, why was she returned to this era?

Aina was still ranting as Sesshomaru stood up, with her clasped in his arms. She went still when the haori he had wrapped around her slipped to the ground. Sesshomaru kept his eyes trained on Aina's as she went still, and then flushed a furious red. "Demon lord or not, if you do not put me down this instant you will live to regret it."

Unwilling to test his mate's resolve, Sesshomaru set her gently on her feet. He looked away as she swiftly wrapped herself in his haori. When he heard her finish, he turned back to her. He had not had time last night to admire her in his clothes, and the sight heightened his already obvious arousal. It was a sort of claim, to see a woman in your clothes, hair tussled from play and cheeks flushed.

"I need to find Kagome," she said, startling him from his thoughts. He blinked at her, disliking the notion. She wanted to return to his foolish brother's companion?

"Not necessary," he said stiffly. His eyes and face were frozen into a cold mask of indifference. The brief glimpse of his more light-hearted side had vanished without a trace behind the visage of the domineering youkai lord.

In both Aina and Sesshomaru's minds, choice was most important. Sesshomaru wanted Aina to choose to stay with him. Aina wanted Sesshomaru to choose to fight for her. Neither would admit this to the other.

Sesshomaru needed for Aina to choose him over any other male, to want to stay by his side and birth his pups and be his mate. Aina wanted Sesshomaru to see that she wasn't a pretty bauble to be set on your dashboard; she needed for him to choose to make the effort to have her, not to assume she was his because of some 'mate' shiznit.

"She may have answers I need."

"You need nothing I cannot provide."

"Argh!" Aina growled in frustration. "Look, I'm not trying to leave you! You can come to!"

"I go where I please, whether I am invited or not."

Aina glared. "Fine, do what you want. But so will I," she said, turning on her heel to stalk into the forest.

"You will go nowhere dressed as you are," he intoned directly behind her. His hand was a steel band around her upper arm.

Aina looked down at his haori, still wrapped around her tender bits. "I suppose that is reasonable," she said, walking over to her bag. "Sesshomaru," she said without turning. "Go so I can dress."

He turned around, which was more than she had been hoping for in the first place.

She changed quickly, jean shorts and an athletic top. She had no doubt the singed fabrics in the fire pit were her clothes from last night. Good riddance.

Aina packed her bag and slung it over one shoulder. She cut the fabric of her shorts to allow for her tail, and then looked at Sesshomaru. "Well? You coming?"

He took his folded haori from her outstretched hands, putting it on quickly. He made a mental note to acquire some more modest clothes for his mate, and said, "I suppose, little mate."

She frowned at his endearment, but made no comment. Aina sniffed the air for the scent of her and Sesshomaru's first journey, and then set off toward the clearing where she had met the formidable taiyoukai. She heard no sounds of pursuit, and assumed the overly possessive ass had opted to let her go. Which was immensely surprising, judging by how he had been acting earlier. Curiosity overwhelmed her, and she turned around to see if he was there.

He wasn't anywhere in sight.

Aina huffed, and turned back around. He was right there in front of her.

"Ahh!" Aina yelled. "Don't do that!"

Sesshomaru gave her a cool look, easily conveying his thoughts. "Rely on your other senses, mate. You are part youkai, you should not depend upon lowly human senses," he said. "Now, lets go find the human girl quickly. Perhaps if we are lucky, we will avoid my miscreant of a half-brother."

"Just don't kill him, okay?"

"I do not make promises I cannot keep."

* * *

He walked behind her the entire time. Aina wasn't stupid; she knew guys. And guys liked to watch butts, especially when walking. She decided not to say anything about it. They hadn't argued for an entire twenty minutes as they walked, and she didn't want to ruin their streak. When had they not argued? Well, when either one of them was unconscious, she supposed. Even then, it was tenuous.

Aina smiled at the thought. She knew she was argumentative, stubborn, impatient, hotheaded, and a whole host of other adjectives that weren't too nice. But Sesshomaru wasn't any different! He was cold, indifferent, arrogant, derogatory, etc. yet, she didn't really care. Yeah, it annoyed her when he did act that way toward her but she didn't want him to change some fundamental part of himself for her—

_Whoa whoa whoa. Wait just a second there. Change him for me? He doesn't need to, because no matter how drawn we are to each other, I won't be with him. Pursuing something would only end in heartache. _

Besides, she doubted her father would approve.

_Oh, daddy. I miss you!_

* * *

Moku Haro held his head in his hands, elbows propped up on the table. There was no way any of what these people were telling him was possible! Yet, there was little other to explain the disappearance oh his daughter, especially with the evidence presented by Kagome and her hanyou friend Inuyasha.

Across from him, the mother and grandfather of Kagome sat. they watched him with empathetic eyes, understanding exactly what he was going through. Their own daughter often made forays into the feudal era; why Aina had also been called to that era, they had no clue.

Moku looked up, red-rimmed eyes searching the kitchen area for the hanyou and Kagome. He didn't want to see the blatant evidence the boy presented with his old-style clothing and dog-ears; he just wanted to be absolutely sure of his daughter's safety.

His stubborn, obstinate Aina, with fiery hair to match her temper and a blistering ferocity to scare anyone. Ever since she had been dropped like a gift on his doorstep, he had loved her, cherished her every breath and word like oxygen in his lungs. The death of his wife had seemed to increase that, as if he couldn't get enough of his remaining family member. The circumstances surrounding her adoption were odd, but that didn't matter to him. He knew he appeared the doddering fool obsessed with shrines to others, but his Aina had the only opinion that he cared for. She was his only daughter, with all the protective crazed instinct that entailed. He clearly remembered chasing boys from their property before she knew they were there, holding the decrepit sword his great grandfather had used. Frankly, Moku had enjoyed scaring the teenage boys after his daughter with the chipped metal weapon; the fear in their faces had exhilarated him, knowing his daughter would laugh at this one day. Lord, to hear her laughter again….

Moku slumped farther onto the table, her tinkling laughter jingling in his ears. Kagome's mother exchanged a worried look with her father, before she spoke to the distraught man.

"Mr. Haro-sama, is there anything you would like? A cup of tea, maybe a bite to eat?" Kagome's mother offered helpfully. The discovery that his only child, a beautiful nubile girl of nearly eighteen, had gone off into an era filled with all sorts of unsavory characters had sent the man's mind into a tailspin. Not to mention that she was five hundred years in the distance past and, according to Inuyasha and Kagome, part hanyou and part miko.

"Coffee, if you have it, would be satisfactory," he said, sitting up with a sigh. Aina could take care of herself, he was sure. She had been trained in martial arts from a very young age, and was absolutely lethal with katanas, twin single edge swords. But she was so _pretty_; he was afraid some demon would over-power her and abuse her. The fact that a demon had already run off with her made him nearly frantic with worry! He himself had already tried to enter through the well, to no avail. When she was, he could not help her. It drove his parental instincts up the wall.

Moku knew exactly what had gone down in that era. Before his retirement after the death of his wife, he had been a historian working for the Tokyo University, an expert in that time period as well as others. Pillaging, raping, murdering vagabonds had roamed the countryside at will. Rumors of demons had abounded, and with the existence of Inuyasha, Moku now knew that to be true. He ran a shaky hand through his hair.

Once Kagome's mother left the room, her grandfather, Higurashi, spoke to the other man. "You know, I felt much the same way when my Kagome went into the past for the first time," he said, absently scribbling out sutras as he spoke. "So young, and innocent. Luckily, she has Inuyasha to protect her, although at times I want to purify the little runt until he bleeds pink! Do not worry so, Haro-sama. She will return, once she convinces the youkai lord to release her. From what Inuyasha has spoken of him, he detests humans."

"Then would that not give him excuse to harm her?" Moku said wearily. He had been over this numerous times already in his mind. Sesshomaru, a feared youkai lord, had kidnapped his daughter and spirited her away. He knew this because Kagome had returned to the present with Inuyasha to inform the distraught father of his daughter's whereabouts. That the girl had the forethought to think of alerting him soothed him somewhat. At least Aina would have Kagome to talk to in that wretched time.

"Perhaps, but if she is truly as powerful as Kagome and Inuyasha seem to believe, she will be protect herself. She was most likely taken only out of curiosity. Truly, what could the demon lord want with your daughter? Not a slave, nor a mate. She will be fine, and will return. Do not worry needlessly," Higurashi said.

"How can you stand it!" Moku exploded from his chair. "Your granddaughter is five hundred years in the distant past, killing demons with the company of a half demon who clearly has feelings for her!"

"My Kagome is trustworthy," Higurashi said simply. "I trust her to make good decisions, and to keep herself safe." Higurashi gave the man a narrow eyed look. "Do you trust _your daughter, _Haro-sama?"

Moku sank into his chair with a thud, exhaling in a huff of despair. "Yes," he croaked.

Higurashi stood up and gathered his completed sutras. As he walked from the room, he lightly gripped the other man's shoulder. "Then let her fulfill her destiny," he said softly. "She would not have been called without a reason."


	9. Chapter 8

_Okay so I gotta say a few things. Number One: a huge massive THANK YOU to LoveInTheBattleField for all of the fantastic reviews. Thank you to all of my reviewers; ya'll have no idea how much those reviews mean to me. they make it easier for me to write this story._**_So, this chapter is dedicated to my most faithful reviewer! LoveInTheBattleField_**

**Chapter Eight **

Kagome was sitting at the base of an old tree, trying to ignore Inuyasha. Her bow was on the ground next to her as she fiddled with the base of her skirt nervously. Barely five feet away, Inuyasha was crouched on the ground. His thunderous expression made it very clear that he was not happy about having been dragged to the future era to ease the worry of Aina's father.

Kagome couldn't help herself. He had seemed like such a sweet old man! She didn't want him to worry needlessly.

Unfortunately, a little excursion to the mall in her time with Inuyasha had nearly ended in bloodshed. Kagome had been in dire need of some new clothes; the school uniforms just weren't cutting it anymore. Inuyasha had insisted on accompanying her, his ears hidden by a baseball cap. He had looked utterly sinful in a pair of black jeans and a red t-shirt that clung to his muscles. Kagome blushed just thinking about it.

While they had been in the mall, Kagome had made Inuyasha try some American food at the food court while they had the chance. He had spit up the hamburger, but was happily munching greasy fries when Hojo approached Kagome.

Inuyasha's head had jerked up at the sound of the boy's voice. _What is that idiot doing here? _He thought as he watched the boy futilely trying to convince Kagome to go on a date with him. Inuyasha smirked when he saw Kagome blush furiously and stammer out a few unconvincing reasons why she couldn't. Kagome had things to do with _him_, not some loser human child.

"Just give it up already, fool. She ain't gonna go anywhere with you! She's busy," Inuyasha said, quickly becoming annoyed with the persistent young man.

"I can wait for when she isn't, I am sure Kagome has an opening in her schedule one day. We had such a wonderful time at the movies last month, I couldn't help but to pursue another date," Hojo said, not noticing Inuyasha's thunderstruck expression.

The smile quickly slipped off Inuyasha's face with the realization that Hojo and Kagome had been on a date before. This little nitwit of a human boy had been near his Kagome?! Inuyasha leapt out of his seat to stand next to Hojo, facing him with deadly intent in his eyes.

"And on this 'date'," Inuyasha started, words laced with the hints of a growl, "did you _touch _Kagome?"

Hojo gave Inuyasha a look that clearly said he had no idea the danger he was in. "Why, yes. We held hands as I walked her home, and I had my arm around her in the movie."

Inuyasha thought back, and little puzzle pieces slid into place. Kagome had come to the feudal era one day last month with her skin nearly scrubbed raw from washing. She had not been able to meet Inuyasha's eyes for a full day. Inuyasha had assumed it was some female thing. Now, he realized that she had been frantically trying to remove Hojo's scent from her skin.

Inuyasha's gold eyes sparkled with fury as he grasped the front of Hojo's shirt and yanked the boy forward until their faces were nearly touching. "Touch Kagome again, and I will rip the tiny human dick off of your body and force-feed it to you," Inuyasha rumbled. He said this quietly so Kagome wouldn't hear and use the beads of subjugation to 'sit' him.

Hojo's eyes got very big, and he scrambled away from the pair. "See you later, Kagome!" He called as he sped toward the depths of the mall.

Inuyasha looked down at a blushing Kagome. "We're leaving, _now_," he said, pulling her from her seat. She barely had time to grab her shopping bags before he was hauling her out of the mall, to the shrine, and down the well.

Which brought her to her present situation. _The only good that has come out of this are my new clothes, _Kagome thought. Aina had had the right idea in wearing clothes used for sports in the feudal era. The cloth dried quickly and allowed for freedom of movement. The only downside was that it was all skin tight, but Kagome hadn't really thought of that.

Inuyasha had, though. He could barely concentrate hard enough to be mad at her about Hojo when she was wearing that outfit! Sure, the uniform had had its benefits; it revealed her long legs, and when she was fighting it had slipped up a little in the back to reveal the curve of her ass, encased in some strange under thing. _But this… _the athletic top was a deep blue and hugged the curve of her waist. Inuyasha would not have known how large and perfectly formed her breasts were in that uniform top. But _this _shirt cupped them to his gaze, like an offering. Her long black hair draped over her shoulders, offering him teasing views of her milky flesh through shadowy strands. And the short little skirt she had managed to fit herself into… it closed around her butt like a lover's hand, showing him clearly how perfect it was. Inuyasha was forced to crouch in front of her instead of his usual cross-legged position because of his burning arousal. Kagome was making him horny to insanity!

Sango and Miroku were watching the exchange with amusement. Miroku with a little more, as he totally understand Inuyasha's current predicament. Sango was amused By Kagome's expression; nervousness and hope were battling in her deep blue eyes.

See, Sango knew of Kagome's feelings for the stubborn hanyou. Sango had a hypothesis for Kagome's feelings right now. She believed that Kagome was nervous about Inuyasha's reaction, but hopeful that he would be jealous. If he were jealous, that would mean that he had at least an inkling of feelings for her. Sango understood, because she was in the same situation with Miroku.

"What?" Kagome finally said. She couldn't take the tension anymore! The way he was staring at her made her nervous.

"I will kill that puny human if he ever comes near you again!" Inuyasha snapped out.

"Why do you care?" Kagome said sullenly. Hojo was just a friend, and she didn't take kindly to Inuyasha ordering her about.

Inuyasha seemed to swallow his next words. He couldn't tell Kagome that she was his true mate; he would scare her away. Inuyasha had known she was since the moment he had been freed from the tree. His connection to Kikyo had been strong, but Kagome pulled him in when not even trying. He burned to mark her as his so no other males would approach her, but he knew she was not of age yet. He wished he could at least enjoy her company in a romantic way before then. But, he didn't know how to woo her. Maybe Miroku had some advice on that line.

Kagome hit Inuyasha in the shoulder. He had been so consumed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed her crawl up to him. His attention refocused on Kagome, and what he saw made his heart stutter. She was crouched on hands and knees in front of him, and the round curve of her ass was offered into the air, like a bitch in heat. From this angle, he could see straight down her kami-blessed shirt. The twin globes of her breasts looked so soft, Inuyasha had to strangle a sound of yearning that arose in his throat. It was either worse or better that she didn't know the effect she had on him. Worse, because what would happen if she actually tried to look sexy? He might throw her down without a second thought. Better, because she could use it to make him do anything she wanted.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome said. "Are you even paying attention?" She was totally unaware of his thoughts.

Inuyasha's expression tightened. Miroku bellowed in laughter; he just couldn't hold it in any longer. Inuyasha there, trying to hide his arousal from Kagome, when she was just making it worse! And Kagome had _no idea what was going on. _When she gave Inuyasha that confused look, Miroku lost control. Sango quickly followed him, Shippo clutched in her arms as she shook with great peals of laughter. Miroku's laugh stuttered when he heard her beautiful laugh; he quickly resolved to get her to laugh more often.

Shippo was even more confused by Kagome at this point, and squirreled himself from Sango's arms to trot over to Kirara.

Inuyasha was glaring at Miroku with undisguised anger, when two things happened at once.

He smelled the approach of Koga and a few of his friends.

And his brother appeared.

* * *

Aina and Sesshomaru entered the clearing where Inuyasha and the others were. She hadn't realized how well she could move through the forest until she stepped into the clearing behind Sesshomaru. He had assumed lead point once they got closer, assuming the role of her protector.

She now understood how good the sense of smell Shippo, Kirara, and Inuyasha had as she practiced on the walk to the group. Millions of motes of information filtered in through her nose and ears. That the other demons and half demons had not sensed her approach made her kind of proud; she had always been good in the forest, but this was a step higher than avoiding forest guides. She had loved to explore the forests in Japan, but it turned out that civilians weren't 'allowed' on a few choice pieces of land. She left hints that she had been there so the guides that were supposed to keep her out went a little crazy trying to find her.

Inuyasha leapt to his feet when his brother appeared, the redheaded miko behind him. Sesshomaru was satisfied to note his half-brother's disarray, and attributed it to the black haired miko scrambling to her feet. "What do you want, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha grated.

"Actually, I kind of made him come," Aina said, stepping around the large frame of the taiyoukai. "I need to talk to Kagome."

Inuyasha snorted, "You can't make him do anything, he let you come!"

"Don't make me neuter you," Aina said absently as she walked to Kagome. Sesshomaru was dogging her heels, pun intended. She didn't hear him move, but she sensed him behind her with a deep thrumming in the pit of her stomach.

Kagome smiled when she saw Aina; she genuinely liked the hybrid. Sango did as well, as she came to talk with the other two girls.

"Sesshomaru, I need to talk with the girls. _In private," _she enunciated clearly, hoping he would catch a hint. He remained behind her.

Aina was presented with an issue. She was sure the other girls knew something of how to handle this whole mating thing, and Kagome was from the future too. She needed to speak with them, WITHOUT him hovering over her shoulder. The only thing that seemed to break through his cold indifference was physical touch. Aina smiled slightly as she formulated an idea.

She slinked to Sesshomaru's side and made eye contact with him. His half-lidded golden eyes stared into hers, and Aina chose not to think too long on what was in there. She smiled warmly at the cold taiyoukai, and slid her palm under his silken hair to lightly rest on the base of his neck. His hair fell over her arm, and Aina shivered at the brief contact.

Sesshomaru stiffened when he felt the willing touch of his mate. He was curious as to what her aim was as he observed her. Her warm hand on his skin nearly drove him to distraction, but he restrained himself.

Aina had to stand on tiptoes to be tall enough to reach her arm out to touch his neck. He was so danged tall, and she was short. She brought herself flush to his chest, breasts pressing lightly against the front of his hakama. With a tug, she beckoned his head closer to hers. He stared for a moment, and then leaned forward as she wished. She put her lips close to his elfin ear. "Please, Sesshomaru?" she whispered, hot breath tickling across his sensitive skin. "It's girl talk. Not a big deal."

Sesshomaru was proud of his mate's intuitiveness. She had noticed his favorable response to her touch, and was attempting to use it to further her own aim. Of course, her movements and her mind entranced him, but should he choose to simply pick her up and spirit her away as he had before he could. However, he sensed that this was important to his little mate. To keep her happy, he would allow for her to speak with the runt's female companions.

"Do as you wish. There is another hot spring nearby. Go there. I will guard at a safe distance," he murmured back. Aina smiled brightly, revealing little pointed canines. Sesshomaru fought the urge to crush her figure to him and ravage her mouth with his own.

"Thank you," she whispered. Then, she did something that surprised them both: she pressed a small kiss to the side of his face, right on one magenta stripe. Her lips were warm against his skin.

As she stepped away, a red flush flooding her elfin features, Sesshomaru fought his instincts. They were clamoring for him to take her, now, on the ground, and he wanted to. Yet he knew she had things to do first. _That should not matter! _His beast raged. _She is mate, mate is ours!_ Sesshomaru chained the beast, raging and spitting, in a corner of his mind. Nothing of his inner battle showed in his demeanor, yet Aina gave him an odd look, sensing his inner turmoil.

"Later, we can talk," she said to him, touching his arm. Then she and the mortal females walked away.

Once they were a good distance from the camp, Aina and the other two girls found the hot spring. Although it was a good deal smaller than the one she had lounged in near Sesshomaru's first camp, it was significantly hotter. Aina was used to being able to shower in scalding water every day, so she treasured being able to wash in the feudal era at all.

Kagome and Sango watched Aina strip in slack-jawed amazement. They were so used to modesty that they were stunned by Aina's lack of it. The other two girls exchanged an amused look, and then stripped as well, shedding their inhibitions for the time being.

As all of the girls lounged in the water and made small talk, they came to be good friends. Sango and Kagome were a little off-put by Aina's brash and aggressive manner. She was very assertive to the two girls, and they took careful pointers from her. Hell, if Aina could handle Sesshomaru with one little peck on the cheek, imagine what they could to with Inuyasha and Miroku!

"So, Aina," Sango started, "How is the mating going?"

Aina snorted. "I don't even know what this whole mating deal is!"

"Oh, kami," Kagome said. "Then how did you manage him so well back there?"

Aina frowned, "I don't know. Instinct I guess."

"Kagome, she's a fourth demon. She has all of those youkai instincts, even if she doesn't follow them half the time. And Aina, do you need for us to explain this whole mess for you about mating?" The tajiya asked helpfully.

"PLEASE!" Aina shouted. "He calls me 'little mate' and things. I don't even know how to react. And then its like I have this burning need to be near him, and I'm attracted to him so much it drives me insane—"

"Whoa, whoa there slow down! If you two are indeed true mates, then that's totally normal," Sango said.

Aina blushed a little. "Sorry for that outburst," she said. "I have just been so cooped up about all of this! I had no one to talk to about it, and then some demons tried to get me, and then Sesshomaru—" Aina blushed again, her face flushing bright red.

The other two girls noticed her reaction when she mentioned Sesshomaru doing something. Sango started laughing and needled Aina, "What did he do to make you blush so much?"

Aina muttered something under her breath that Sango was absolutely positive were not kind. Aina's green gaze sparkled in embarrassment and amusement. "Nothing," she said in a breathy voice.

Sango smiled and dropped it. Kagome said, once the other two girls quit their bantering, "What of this demon attack?"

Aina's gaze took on a shadowy quality. Gold sparks raced through her hair, and Kagome and Sango shifted in nervous agitation. Her demon marks flared briefly, before Aina managed to calm herself down. "Some demons caught me trying to escape Sesshomaru. I purified one, and Sesshomaru arrived and dispatched the other two." A bloodthirsty look entered Aina's eyes. "I wish I had been strong enough to kill the other two also," she said absently, staring down at her claws.

Kagome and Sango understood without Aina having said what the three demons had been after. It happened too often in this time not to recognize the look of a woman it had almost happened to. The two women were lucky that Inuyasha and Miroku were so protective.

To get her mind off of those miscreants who had treated her so terribly, Sango interrupted her dark thoughts. "Listen, mating can be kind complicated." When she saw she Aina's attention, Sango continued. "Every youkai, or anyone with even a drop of youkai blood, has a true mate. They have only one, their entire life. Their mate could be anyone: ningin, youkai, hanyou, or miko. A youkai's mate tends to be someone similar in power levels, so you must be crazy powerful to be on Fluffy's level," Sango said. She was glad the name Fluffy had elicited a smile from the girl.

"A youkai marks his mate, once she has submitted to him. If he tries to do it beforehand, the mark won't take, and another male is free to waltz in and take her," Kagome said, helping Sango explain the hole complicated process. "And, if another male tries to court a mate, they often fight very violently. The other suitor either abandons the pursuit or is killed by the youkai."

"That's awful!" Aina exclaimed.

"Youkai are very possessive," Sango said.

"Especially inu youkai," Kagome said. "Or inu hanyou," she added as an afterthought.

"So he will kill any guy who tries to go after me?" Aina asked.

"Knowing Sesshomaru?" Kagome said, "He will kill them _violently._"

"Fantastic," Aina muttered. An overly possessive, jealous, powerful youkai lord was convinced she was his one true mate.

So why was she so damn excited about that?


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine **

_Shippo might just be the only smart male here, _Miroku thought. The kitsune had disappeared after the girls, scampering along not soon after they left the clearing. Although, if Miroku could have, he would have gladly followed the three beauties into the forest. But, alas, he was trapped in between two raging males. _Fuck friendship, Inuyasha owes me big time, _he thought. Being the mediator between Inuyasha, whom he would have to travel with after this argument, and Sesshomaru, who would kill him with no guilt at some slight was quite nerve wracking. Inuyasha would be positively miserable to be around later, if the current conversation could hold any predictions.

"How did you get your arm back, Fluffy?" Inuyasha snapped, smirking at the ridiculous nickname the group used to refer to Sesshomaru's true form. "Thought I cut it off!"

"The presence of a true mate, once accepted, heals. Perhaps when you accept that the miko is indeed yours, and you let her know that she is yours, the same will happen to you as well in dangerous situations," Sesshomaru said.

"That makes no sense! I already know Kagome is mine," Inuyasha growled low, rumbling the word 'mine.'

"Ah, yes, but does Kagome know she is yours?" Miroku said, much to Inuyasha's annoyance. Miroku was supposed to be on his side in this! "You do not treat her like a mate."

Inuyasha huffed and crossed his arms. "I protect her! What more does the wench need?"

"Love," Miroku said wisely. "You do not treat her the way a woman needs to be treated, with love and care. In fact, just the other day, I believe you told Kagome that she was worthless as nothing more than a shard-detector?"

Inuyasha glared at the monk. "Yeah, who's being a hypocrite, Miroku? You go after every wench and ask them to bear your child when you clearly love Sango!"

Miroku took on an embarrassed air. "Yes, well, the likelihood that she returns my feelings is quite low on any account."

"That doesn't give you any excuse to try that hentai shit on some random bitch," Inuyasha said. He was glad that he had managed to transfer Miroku into the spotlight for a change.

"I am surprised by how you willingly released your mate into the forest, hanyou," Sesshomaru said silkily, interrupting the conversation between the other two males. Their accusations were leading them nowhere, and he was becoming quite bored listening. "Surely, my father's blood passed along at least that much inu instinct?"

"Hey! Shut-up, you bastard!" Inuyasha yelled. "I had my reasons for letting her go off!"

Sesshomaru raised one angled eyebrow. He was poised to respond when an errant breeze whipped by, shifting his hair and fluttering among his moko-moko draped over his shoulder. Sniffing the air, he suddenly let loose a ripping snarl. "Would that be the stench of the wolf prince?"

Inuyasha smirked, "Yeah, it's why I let Kagome go off with your bitch and the tajiya. I don't want her near that bastard when he comes over here." Inuyasha felt proud of himself for coming up with that on the spot when Kagome was leaving. If she was somewhere else when Koga came around, Inuyasha could totally avoid the wolf inching in on his mate.

Koga had been after Kagome for ages, even calling her 'his woman.' The only reason Inuyasha hadn't killed the damn wolf was because of Kagome, who begged him not to hurt the other male. She didn't fully understand that Inuyasha was perfectly within inu rights to kill the interfering mongrel for going after his mate. Although, that right would be a hell of a lot more concrete if he went ahead and claimed Kagome, but Inuyasha refused to tread there.

Sesshomaru felt a light satisfaction when Inuyasha said 'your bitch', acknowledging Sesshomaru's claim over the red headed hybrid. However, he quickly cut it away when the problem his nose was telling him presented itself. "You are truly stupid, mutt," Sesshomaru gave Inuyasha a cool glare, freezing the blood in Miroku's veins. _To be on the receiving end of such a look? No thank you. _

Inuyasha looked surprised for a split second. He had never seen Sesshomaru exude such a cool anger, not even when he had made grabs for the Tetsusaiga in the past. Sesshomaru's cold fury buffeted Inuyasha, feeling like the wind whistling around the peak of a snowy mountain. Then his half-brother's words sank in, and he bared his fangs at the offending youkai. "No, fluffy ass! I ain't stupid!"

"Then surely you would have realized by now that the wolf prince and his mange-ridden companions are in fact not coming this way, but going toward my mate, and by extension, yours?" Sesshomaru turned and began walking into the forest, but stopped before he entered and turned. Inuyasha's face was frozen in a rictus of surprise and anger. "You thought you were clever for letting her leave your sight, yet you failed to realize that the wolf prince does not come for you. He seeks the hand of your mate, so he would go to her directly. Also, if your used the senses you were born with as you should, you would have also realized that our mates and the tajiya are reclining in a hot spring. Naked. The wolf prince will come upon them soon, while they are in there. Foolish mutt."

Sesshomaru felt angry with himself as well. Aina was very powerful, but she had no control over herself. She could not protect herself like Sesshomaru could protect her. And now, she was offered up like a sensual buffet to dirty wolf youkai who had already made a habit of seeking the mates of other youkai.

The formidable youkai stalked into the forest, heading to his mate. If any of the wolf prince's flea ridden lackeys touched, smelled, or even looked at his mate, he would kill them.

Viciously.

* * *

"So, what is your high school like, Aina?" Kagome asked. The conversation had turned to easier topics after the mating conversation. The girls had been discussing everything, from boys to weapons to hair care.

"Eh, like any high school I guess. There are the popular kids, the nerdy ones, the athletic ones, and so on. My only complaint would be the art teacher: she was half insane, asking me to sit still for portraits. Freaked me out," Aina replied.

"Sounds about right," Kagome said. "School sucks, especially when you can barely keep up with the work."

Aina noticed Sango's lost expression and changed the subject to something she could participate in. "Any boys you are interested in, Sango?" She asked the tajiya teasingly.

Sango blushed prettily. Kagome laughed, "Hai, a hentai monk that is!"

Aina gasped. "No way, not Miroku!"

Shippo, who was sitting on the edge of the spring with his little feet dangling in the water, watched the girls with bright eyes. Being so young, he had not yet begun to notice the differences between his anatomy and theirs, so the girls had no issues with him sitting so close. Honestly, Shippo was more interested in the butterflies flitting through the air, or other strange creatures rustling in the undergrowth. When Sango's feelings toward Miroku were mentioned, he mustered a small snort. By their scents, it had been obvious for ages that the two liked each other as more than just comrades. In his innocence, he assumed Sango knew of Miroku's feelings as well and refrained from commenting on them.

"Well, he is really hot," Sango said sheepishly. Her face hardened. "But I will never pursue anything with that piece of low-life scum! Flirting with every wench he comes across! Hentai!"

Laughing, Aina and Kagome comforted Sango. "He just doesn't understand what he's missing out on, girl," Aina said. "You're way better looking than any of the women he tries to get," Kagome added on. Sango gratefully smiled at her two friends.

Aina Sank down lower into the hot spring, luxuriating in the warmth and the presence of her two friends. She and the other two girls had gotten some serious bonding time in, and it felt good. Aina didn't have a lot of female friends back in the future, so it felt really great to unload on the miko and tajiya. They weren't the fluffy, air-headed types either. Kagome was so open and caring; with a deep inner strength that said she wouldn't take crap from anybody. The tajiya Sango was understanding and compassionate, a fiery equal to Kagome. Aina felt like they would all be great friends.

Shippo and Aina caught the scent of the approaching youkai at the same moment. Aina splashed wildly as she sat up quickly, and nearly slipped under the water in her rush. Coming straight this way were the youki signatures of four youkai. One seemed enhanced almost, like he was carrying something to fuel his power. Two were normal, with average power levels. The fourth contained monstrous amounts of energy, and it smelled odd, different. Almost like hers, with its mixture of youki and miko powers. Except it felt slightly different, she realized when she felt the tangible weight of it settle against some sixth sense she hadn't known she possessed, not as electric.

Shippo looked apologetically at Kagome, and said, "Uhhh, Ka-goo-meeee…"

Sango and Kagome, who had been watching the two without comment but with wide eyes, released the tension with which their hands gripped their weapons. "Yes, Shippo?" She asked the young kitsune.

He fiddled with his hands, refusing to look at his mother figure. His little ponytail bobbed as he ducked his head and refused to glance up when Kagome made a questioning 'hmmm?'

Sango, tiring of his theatrics, lifted Hirakoutsu threateningly. "Spill it, Shippo."

He gave Sango a hurt filled green-eyed glance. "Koga, Ginta, and Hokkaku are on their way here. There's some other guy with them, but he smells funny."

Aina nodded her agreement, assuming that those were the names of the wolf youkai she could now scent very clearly.

A great rustling in the underbrush heralded the entrance of four wolf youkai into the small clearing. Kagome and Sango squealed and sank deeper beneath the water, concealing their tender bits from the leers of the wolf youkai. Aina, furious that they had caused her new friends embarrassment, hid herself but glared at the newcomers. She was positively sick of uppity, arrogant, snobby male youkai. The only one she truly wanted to even look at happened to have silver hair and gold eyes.

These four, however, did not meet her requirements. The one that she felt was enhanced was tall and brawny, with dirty looking black hair that was held back in a ponytail. Bright blue eyes sitting under a ratty headband zeroed in on Kagome with a disturbing intensity. Thick brows hunched low, lending his face a comical expression of concentration. A thick tail twitched behind his legs. The two normal feeling ones had very odd hair, one with a platinum blonde Mohawk and the other with some odd black tuft perched upon his platinum blonde hair. All three were at least six and a half feet tall, with tanned skin and elfishly pointed ears. They were clothes in skins, chains, and various kinds of armor, with swords perched on their hips.

The fourth wolf youkai, the one with the familiar power, had pitch-black hair and deep azure eyes with bright silver rims. His long hair was straight and the tips seemed to be dyed the same blue as his eyes, but Aina suspected it was perfectly natural. He was tall and brawny as well, but his armor was severely… lacking. Aina was surprised he wasn't freezing his butt off. All he wore was long pants, the flow-y kind indicative to the era. Otherwise, a blue bandana knotted to keep his bangs out of his face, a sword, and another bandana around his upper arm was the only concession to clothing. The view certainly wasn't bad, all bronzed skin and rippling muscles. Boys in her era just didn't have muscles like that, ridged abs and sculpted arm muscles.

"Kagome," the leader said, "Are you ready to be my woman?" He flashed a toothy smile and winked at the naked Kagome.

"Koga, we're naked!" Kagome shouted.

All four boys smirked. "We noticed," one said, and the other laughed. Aina's eyes grew wide in realization.

"Kagome, Sango," she said, "Move to the edge of the spring." The girls gave her confused looks, but did as she asked. "They can see through the water quite easily," she said to the silent question posed in their eyes. Both girls' had identical expressions of shock, humiliation, and anger.

"Koga! How could you let us sit like that?" Kagome screeched at the offending male.

"Quite easily," he rumbled. "Now I am even more eager to make you my woman." His low growls made the very air vibrate, sending small ripples across the water. Kagome blushed furiously, and Aina thought that too many blushes had been going around recently.

Kagome shrieked in rising anger. Aina felt bad for Koga; it was clear Kagome was so angry, her miko powers were sparking, pink light beginning to suffuse the air around her figure. Aina became worried. It was clear these four were not enemies, so she figured Kagome didn't really want to hurt or purify the intruding males. However, if she didn't take control of herself soon, her powers would release themselves whether she liked it or not. Aina had less training than Kagome did in matters of miko powers, but she had to help the dark haired miko before all hell broke loose.

When the pink light grew brighter, Aina quickly reached out and grabbed the girl's hands in her own, ignoring the shock from grabbing another miko in the middle of summoning her spiritual powers. Aina's powers quickly rose to defend her from the strange power, and gold sparks raced along her skin to combat the pink glow. Aina's demon marks flashed, briefly highlighting on her cheeks, shoulders, hips, thighs, and circling up her arms. The gold swiftly overpowered the pink, and the pink glow diffused, seeming to sink back into Kagome without a whisper. The gold sparks fizzled out and dropped to the surface of the water. There, they petered out and died with small pops and sizzles.

Kagome was breathing hard at the expended effort. She stared at Aina with wide eyes, which looked back at her with the pale jade green and gold. The demon marks faded from Aina's skin. Kagome smiled, grateful that Aina had helped her to control her powers and avert a disaster. _She truly is powerful; she barely took half a second to shut down my reiyku. She's not even out of breath! _Kagome thought. There truly was more to Aina than just a pretty face.

As Aina released Kagome's hands after squeezing them comfortingly, she looked back at the wolf youkai. All of them looked dumbfounded, and she frowned. "What?" She asked.

The fourth wolf youkai, with the strange powers, stepped to the edge of the spring. "Your ears and tail and scent indicate that you are part kitsune, correct?" he asked her, staring intently into her eyes.

She tilted her head, and hesitantly answered, "Yes…"

"Yet your powers were spiritual in nature, is this also correct?" He seemed to wait with bated breath for her answer.

Aina cleared her throat and murmured, "Yes, that is correct."

He sighed and smiled. His smile was filled with happiness and his eyes glinted with a suppressed joy. "Then you are akarui, like me."

"What does that mean?"

"Luminous. It's what we are called, part demon and part miko. Of course," he flushed, "I am not a miko, but I have monk-like powers. My mother was a miko. Female akarui are always more powerful, because they have the miko powers and stuff."

Aina nodded. So, miko-demon hybrids weren't uncommon, or at least not enough to not merit a name. "Do you know any others like us?" She asked eagerly.

His smile dropped off his face. "Sadly, no. We are alone. It is rare that a child such as us is conceived and carried successfully."

Aina deflated, saddened that the boy across from her was the only other one of her kind. She supposed it was enough to have one, not to be the only person inexistence with her damnable heritage of youkai and miko. Although, soon she could be the last, she thought as the wolf youkai and miko hybrid kept staring at her while she thought. That kind of intense perusal would get him killed by Sesshomaru.

The other akarui held out a hand. Silver flowed down his arm, shooting down the smooth expanse of skin like silver blood, until it pooled in his palm. Bright silver demon markings glowed on his face, three vertical stripes contouring his face, with a lone star high on his forehead. Aina, understanding what he wanted, held out her own hand. She doubted at first that her powers would heed her call, but they seemed to sense the presence of power akin to their own unique signature. The brilliant gold jagged like lightning, crackling throughout her hair and down her arms. The bright bolt became an even brighter sphere of concentrated power, a sizzling combination of demon youki and miko reiyku. Her demon markings flared into stunning life, being called to the fore by for the second time that day. They pulsed with each beat of her heart, and the energy cupped in her hand pulsed in tune with it.

Excruciatingly slowly, Aina and the male akarui leaned forward until their palms touched. When the electric gold met the roiling silver, a supernova of light erupted. The male akarui was launched backwards ten feet. Ash coated his face and arm, nearly up to his elbow, where he had once held his concentrated power.

Aina stared at what she had wrought, as the akarui grinned brightly and shot back to his former position. The grass around the little explosion had been singed to bits, and where the male akarui had collided with the earth a deep crater yawned. "That was fantastic!" The male akarui exclaimed. "What's your name?"

"Aina. What's your name?" Aina asked the other akarui. It was obvious, from that little display, that Aina was more powerful. She hadn't moved a bit when the explosion had forced him into the air and back ten feet.

"Kitkulavi," he said, staring at where the rocky ledge hid her breasts from view. He looked up at her face and smiled brilliantly, showcasing white teeth and jagged canines. "But you can call me Lavi, or mate." Lavi was positively thrilled by this discovery. This gorgeous creature was an akarui, like him, and immensely powerful to boot. He willfully, and very foolishly, chose to ignore the fact that a female that powerful would not submit to the physical mating. He had no hope of dominating a woman like her, akarui or not. Her power and her beauty blinded him to simple fact. To take her as his mate, claiming her as his forever and on into even death, he would have to dominate her and then take her beneath the full moon, and then place his claiming mark on the junction of her shoulder and neck. He began to salivate, and grew obviously aroused, at the thought it. Of course, he had already been aroused by the three naked beauties in the water before him, but now he was _painfully _so.

Aina froze. "Oh, no." She just _knew _this was gonna end very badly.

Koga smirked at his cousin, Lavi, when he turned to give Koga a lascivious grin. He knew exactly what the wily akarui was thinking: hot piece of ass and an akarui foretold in the prophecy, with awesome powers? better snap her up quick. Of course, the prophecy said her powerful; silver haired inuyoukai mate would join her. Koga and Lavi chose to ignore the 'silver-haired' annotation. The wolf youkai were not known for thinking things through.

"No, no no no! Don't say that! You'll get yourself killed, and Koga and Ginta an Hokkaku along with you!" Kagome stage-whispered, eyes darting furtively all over the area, searching the surrounding forest.

_Great, _was the overriding sarcastic thought of the three girls. Not only were they naked in a hot spring, but four wolf youkai, two of which who were seeking to make two of the women their mates, were sitting on the edge of the spring. This kept them from getting dressed and getting the hell out of dodge before their extremely over protective males showed up and murdered every single male in the near vicinity.

Kagome looked down to tell Shippo to run before he got caught in the middle of it, but the kitsune pup was gone. Her face paled in realization and she looked at her two friends. "Shippo is gone," she whispered "He went to get the boys."

Aina and Sango, who had been unsuccessfully trying to get the wolf youkai to leave them, stopped still. Aina moaned and sank below the water; things were going to get very interesting very soon if she couldn't convince these idiot guys to leave.

"Okay, look," she said, making eye contact with each of the offending males. "If you don't leave in hurry, some serious bloodshed will be happening."

Ginta and Hokkaku were shifting, clearly wanting to take the girl's advice and hightail it out of there. "Koga, Lavi," Ginta began. "Maybe the girl's are right. It's best that we leave."

Koga snorted. "Leave? Not until my woman comes from that water, so I can lick each droplet from her skin and make her mine. I ain't leaving her after I saw such a nice preview of what is mine," he leered at where Kagome's chest would be, if it she had not scooted up close to the rocky outcropping.

"Inuyasha will hurt you!" Kagome cried.

"He can't take me! Hell, I have back up if mutt face decides to break out his old rusty sword, and Lavi could take him with the sword anyway!" Koga crowed, certain of his victory. Finally! After such a long time of hounding Kagome, he could just take her from dog breath. Sure, she wasn't exactly willing, but Koga was sure he could change that pretty quickly.

Sango snorted also, sounding very unladylike but hardly caring. "Inuyasha isn't the only guy around today," she said, sounding oddly pleased with herself. She knew how uncomfortable Koga made Kagome, with his constant barrage of attention. That last bit about her friend's virtue had been the last straw.

"That monk can't do shit to me!" Koga said, crossing his muscular arms over his chest.

"That's not who I'm talking about," Sango said mysteriously, with a truly scary tajiya smile.

"No one else travels with you guys," Koga said.

"He's not one of our companions," Sango said. Kami, she was enjoying this!

"Technically," Hokkaku gently interrupted, "we wouldn't know if anyone else was with them. The wind is not in our favor."

Lavi smirked at Aina. His eyes hadn't let her during Sango and Koga's entire argument. "I can take down anyone who tries to take my woman," he said, sounding identical to his cousin Koga. Kagome groaned at the thought of another Koga, except this one was after Aina, who was so off limits it wasn't even funny. Inuyasha was already on the verge of killing Koga for his constant pursuit of Kagome. Sesshomaru wouldn't hesitate to eviscerate the akarui male.

Sure, akarui were, as a rule, more powerful by far. However, Sesshomaru was, according to himself, Aina's true mate. If that was the case, he was either on the same level, or more powerful than her. And it had been made very obvious by the earlier demonstration that Aina was leagues above Lavi. So if she leagues above Lavi, Sesshomaru was also.

"Not Sesh-" Kagome started. A frantic Shippo interrupted her. He barreled into the clearing, cheeks red from exertion and eyes wide with terror.

"Run!" he screamed at the wolf youkai, and he tried ineffectually to push at the thick legs of Koga. When that didn't work he tugged at Lavi's pants. "Run for your lives!"

Kagome paled a shade further. "They're on their way, aren't they, Shippo?" She asked the kitsune kit.

The forest went deadly silent. One moment, the cheerful chirping of birds and the rustling of animals, the wind in the leaves and the general cacophony of life made noises all around the conglomeration of youkai, miko, tajiya, and akarui. Then, suddenly and immediately, all sound ceased, as if a vacuum had sucked all of the noise out of the air without the dignity of a _pop! _to signal it's disappearance.

"They are here," Shippo whispered fearfully. He ducked into the pile of female clothes, hiding himself amongst the cloth.

From the forest leapt Inuyasha. He landed directly in front of Kagome and snarled viciously at Koga. His normally gold eyes had bled into the demonic red of his heritage. Claws curled over in preparation for attack, red eyes blazing, he made Koga take a step backward.

Once the wolf prince realized the falter, he quickly regained his air of confidence, although it was somewhat lessened. "What do you want, mongrel?" He growled at Inuyasha. Inuyasha didn't respond; his raging mind was beyond words, but it was intact enough to realize he needed to await his powerful ally to back him up before attacking.

Aina, Kagome, and Sango huddled in the spring, naked, behind Inuyasha. How, _how _did they manage to find themselves in these situations? This kami cursed confrontation was going to end in copious amounts of screaming and bloodshed.

Lavi laughed. "Is that what you were so scared of, mate?" he asked Aina. "A single inu hanyou?"

"Just wait for it," Sango muttered darkly.

Koga caught his scent before he stepped into the clearly. His blue eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and he mumbled, "Oh, _fucker!" _

Sesshomaru stepped into the clearing. His entrance itself was silent, but eh reception made an enormous racket. Birds, squirrels, and all manner of creature burst from their hiding spots and fled. A great cloud of birds of all species shot out in every direction, as long as it was away from the livid taiyoukai. Everything living with half a brain cell vanished from the presence of the Lord of the West.

Sesshomaru's normally indifferent golden eyes had turned into a startling hue of blood red. His slit pupils had turned an eerie shade of turquoise. Pure fury emanated from him in suffocating waves. When he opened his mouth to speak, his elongated teeth made it difficult to be clear. "Several times now, as I made my way here," he said in a voice like frozen blades that stroked over the thin skin of the jugular, enticing in it's absolute menace. "I have heard you refer to what is mine as 'mate.' For this offense, you die."

Lavi laughed. The sound has harsh and crude in the face of Sesshomaru's clear promise of death. "And who is this to threaten me? I am an akarui! Tell me, Koga, who do I have the honor of killing today to obtain my woman?" He looked at his cousin.

Koga was bloodless in the face. His normally tan skin had been bleached bone white by the arrival of the Lord of the West. Koga remembered very well the lesson Sesshomaru had given him when he had learnt that Koga's wolves had been the ones who attacked Rin.

"Koga?" Asked Lavi, quickly losing his confidence as he saw his cousin's frightened face. He gave the taiyoukai a glance from the corner of one blue eye. The inuyoukai was good several inches taller than he was, with broad shoulders and long silvery hair. The power rolling off him in waves was not something Lavi looked forward to going up against, akarui powers or not.

Suddenly, the power ratcheted up in intensity, searing into everyone around Sesshomaru like a lance of white-hot pain. Only Aina remained unaffected.

Sesshomaru had taken notice of his little mate in the water. She looked small, but her bearing was strong. She was also tragically naked. This wolf youkai, the one Koga smelled like, had been pressuring his little mate to give in and be his, while she crouched naked and weaponless in a tiny hot spring.

Blood spilt upon the grass, Sesshomaru noticed absently. The rich coppery smell heightened his bloodlust. Bright red ribbons were streaming down the front of the wolf youkai's chest, gushing from the hole Sesshomaru had placed there. Clutched in Sesshomaru's hand was his still-beating heart.

Lavi's hands scrabbled at his chest in confusion. Koga yelled incoherently, and launched himself forward, swooping his cousin into his arms and away out of the clearing before Sesshomaru could deal the deathblow. Lavi was akarui; he could heal from this with time. But, there would be no healing from anything if Sesshomaru injured him once more.

Aina watched in a mixture of horror and, sickeningly, lust, as Sesshomaru rent the heart from poor, foolish Lavi. She supposed it was her youkai heritage that caused lust to slither through her veins. The impressive show of strength showed her that _yes, he is strong, he is perfect! _Her instincts clamored for her to accept his claim. They could cement the bond now, and do the claiming on the night of the full moon, mere days from now!

Sesshomaru scented his little mate's arousal; the combination of his protective drive, the bloodlust, the nakedness of Aina, and his normal drive to take her overwhelmed his restraint.

In the blink of an eye, Sesshomaru had yanked Aina from the hot spring and leapt into the air, launching them over the wooded area and into the distance.

Inuyasha followed his brother's lead, quickly abducting Kagome and absconding with her in the opposite direction.

Sango sat in the spring, in a daze at the whirl of events. Shippo was just poking his head above his cloth barrier when Miroku burst onto the scene of the crime, panting and sweating. He had sprinted all the way there, and had still reached in much later than Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. In between great heaves of air, his eyes ticked over the clearing, taking in the blood and the scorched ground and the discarded clothes.

"What," he panted, "did I miss?"

Sango threw Hirakoutsu at him, knocking him unconscious.


	11. Chapter 10

_**I apologize for the long wait. I have been trying to get this chapter out for quite a while, but a severe case of writer's block and life interrupted me. These next few chapters set the stage for the plot, and are also gonna be the ones that detail how Aina and Sesshomaru evolve, relationship wise. It has been bothering me how they have just met each other, but are moving really fast. characters tend to do what they want wants the story is set in motion. Also, as an aside, akarui means luminous in Japanese. Thank you, google translate!**_

**Chapter Eleven**

He set down gently, alighting on narrow feet like some kind of goddamn acrobat. If Aina wasn't so… distracted by other things at that moment, she probably could have mustered up some annoyance from the dredges of her being. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on the view of things, she was greatly distracted.

Of course, sexy Sesshomaru nearly frothing at the mouth, eyes a fearsome red, and claws clenching and unclenching as he stared down at her was very distracting. He had a crushing grip on her slight form, still within his arms as the case may be. He was breathing heavily, harsh breaths grating through his distended canines. His immaculate hair was hanging in thick locks around Aina as he bent his head forward. Sticking his nose into the crook of where her neck and shoulder met, that small little hollow where the skin was so thin he could perceive the rush of her sweet blood in her veins, he inhaled deeply. Scents flooded his sensitive nose: her heady scent of vanilla and fire flowers, the womanly tang of her lust, the electric sizzle of her powers, and then, beneath all of the lovely scents of his mate, he found that one lingering trace. The faint mote of cold nights and snowy fields rushed into his nose, capturing his full attention.

That base creature had put a claiming scent on Aina. Aina, whom Sesshomaru had thought lost until mere days ago, suddenly reappeared. The amulet he had kept for centuries in the forlorn hope she would be returned had glowed, blazing through his existence in such a simple way. It had not only signaled her return, but his as well: the return to a life worth living. His existence up till that point had been a venture consisting of anger at his father, protecting a small human girl, and defeating demons that would never compare to him in power. The revenge he wished to visit upon Naraku had briefly given him purpose, but it had quickly receded as the ennui of his existence settled in. And that youkai, a mangy wolf with aspirations for greatness, had _dared _to put a claim on that which Sesshomaru would never release from his grasp. Aina shaking in his arms, looking up at him with green eyes brimming with lust for _him, _Sesshomaru, not some flea infested wolf. The scent of him, _Lavi his name was, _needed to be removed. The offensive smell of cold nights and snowy fields lay like a disease upon his mate's sweet, soft skin.

Sesshomaru snarled viciously. The sound started low in his abdomen and built, before vibrating up through his chest to tear from his throat in the distinctive snarl of an inuyoukai. The fearsome growl thundered through the air with the force of a freight train. Aina twitched in his arms as the sound caused her body to vibrate, moaning gutturally low in her throat. Her body basked in the blood glow emanating from her mate's red eyes.

At the sound of his little mate's clear approval, a steel resolve entered Sesshomaru's mind. He would remove the smell of that wolf carcass from her skin.

The wide field they were in would not be appropriate for what he had planned. Sesshomaru bunched the powerful muscles in his legs and then leaped, flying high over the treetops in a graceful arc. His powerful senses sought out the kind of place he required for privacy. Down below, trees rushed by in a swirl of green and brown, occasional blue signifying the water sources that liberally dotted the land. His eyes easily picked out and discarded numerous places that were unacceptable. And then, right there! There, by that hidden pond.

With a blast of youki, Sesshomaru changed course in mid-air and shot toward his selected location. He sank down through a gap in the treetops, hair billowing back from his sharply angled face, mingling with the scarlet hair of the girl clutched bridal-style in his strong arms. Soft green moss met his feet with a delicate thud as he quickly balanced out, shifting his weight to compensate for the change in gravity.

Gnarled Japanese maples concealed the mossy ground, arcing high overhead with orange and red leaves. A small pond, fed by an equally small babbling brook, sat off to the right. Green moss created a veritable carpet beneath his feet, spreading in every direction, providing a soft bed. Sesshomaru walked deeper into his hidden glade, whispering branches high overhead.

Gently, he rested the body of his mate against the soft ground. As he leaned back to peruse her delightful form, her small hands tightly grabbed ahold of his haori. She tried ineffectually to pull him back to her, high keening sounds coming from her chest.

Aina's youkai instincts were at an all-time high. Her green eyes were glazed with lust, the primal emotion curling her toes, sending her into a mating frenzy. The claws on her fingers seemed to have lengthened and easily shredded the silk of her mate's clothes. The ears atop her head were angled backwards sharply, indicating her feelings toward his refusal to bring his body flush to hers. Her tail flicked in an agitated manner, whispering over the soft moss in swift strokes. Sounds she didn't recognize poured from her throat, moans and keens and mewls that she didn't know her vocal cords could make. She was almost disturbed by the total absence of reason, the voice in her head that should be screaming at her to _slow the hell down! _conspicuously absent. But she was so frantic for his touch, needing the rough possession he could give her, aching for him to dominate her and force her to submit.

Had she been back in the future, she would have recoiled at this base need. She had always valued her independence. At the time, she had had secret yearnings for a guy that could stand up to her and then take her. She had had sweet dreams about a rough possession by some faceless man, but that faceless figure was quickly morphing into the silver-haired demon hovering over her, staring down at her with half lidded red eyes. Her demonic heritage awakening had brought to the fore urges she had normally suppressed to a damaging degree. Her breaths were ragged, her claws had rent the beautiful silk of his haori to shreds, and she was growing evermore impatient with every second that he didn't give her the hard pressure she needed.

Her kitsune blood, thrumming in her veins, easily recognized the male hovering over her body. This was _mate, _the sacred bond that she had been both suppressing and ignoring aching to be fulfilled. That small tether slapped into startling life, a taught cord binding the two together for eternity. Aina fancied she could see the cord; glad and silver mesh, bridging his heart to hers. Her kitsune side was overjoyed with the evidence of the truth; this is was her true mate! He was indomitably strong, blessed in physical form, and he was _desperate _for her to submit. But no, her kitsune blood sang mischievously, youkai females did not simply submit to a male, not even a true mate! He had to fight for her submission, not expect it!

Sesshomaru leaned back and took a good, long look at Aina. Over the past few days, her softness had become less noticeable in key places, changes overcoming her body in minute ways that he suspected she had not yet noticed. Likely, she was very close to coming of age, and was experiencing normal kitsune changes that accompanied the maturation of a female. She would soon be able to notice the differences. Sesshomaru thoughtfully trailed a finger down the valley of her breasts, claw shearing away the insufferable cloth separating her from his gaze. She wriggled underneath him, and he shifted his weight to pin her hips down with his own. Strong thighs encased her slim body on either side, totally constricting her range of movement to about nil. When he saw the tensing of the muscles in her arms, he grasped both wrists and pinned them above her head.

Aina continued to squirm. He had her in a good position, arching her back into the air and baring her bra-encased breasts to his greedy gaze. The soft, pale flesh brimmed over the top of her bra, baring the silky globes to his eyes. The black cups pushed them up and together, providing a lovely valley of shadow. A crème ribbon of lace scalloped along the edge of the cups, interspersed with small rhinestones. It was Aina's favorite bra, and Sesshomaru's obstacle.

A strange object constricting her chest stopped Sesshomaru short. Two almost triangular cups seemed to hold her breasts in place. Connecting these two cups was a bridge of fabric with a tiny bow in the center. After deliberating for a moment, Sesshomaru slipped his claw under the center part and tugged. The flesh above the cups jiggled enticingly when he pulled at the strange fabric. So he did it again.

Aina wriggled beneath the dominating hold Sesshomaru had over her body, trying unsuccessfully to get out from beneath him. He hadn't dominated her yet—she wanted on top so she could slowly gaze at the flesh she revealed. She imagined herself pushing aside the scraps of his haori to finally see what promised to be a beautiful sight, and bucked her hips wildly. Sesshomaru didn't move an inch.

Sesshomaru's long silver hair hung down in a shimmering curtain of shining moonlight. It was so long, it tangled with the locks of Aina's fiery curls, a meeting of fire and moonlight. The two were as different as day and night, but a connection forged of titanium and anchored by diamond steadily grew strength with each hour they were together.

Suddenly, and quite irritatingly, a presence slipped into Aina's mind. It seethed with dark power, and chuckled when it surveyed Aina's situation.

_Ah, I see you have been recalled before planned. Small loss, it would have happened mere days from now anyway. I also see you have managed to trap yourself in this situation rather quickly. That will simply not do. You have not yet bloomed sexually, as a youkai. Your human instincts merge with your latent demon instincts to make you unable to fight this. Ahaha, your kitsune beast must like the Western Lord very much! Anyhow, I waste time by explaining things to you. Your mind can barely comprehend anything at this moment other than the gorgeous lord hanging over you. Absolutely delicious, by the way. Now, snap out of it! _

Something with the force of a freight train slammed into Aina's mind. An arrow of piercing clarity sheared away the fuzziness of her instincts, and she gasped like she was emerging from deep water. As she regained her bearings, she felt an insistent tug in her chest area, and an enticingly heavy weight was settled over her hipbones. Aina looked up, straight into Sesshomaru's red eyes. His claw tugged on the bridge of her bra, and a slow grin was curling the edges of his sinful mouth, revealing canines that had definitely gotten larger.

_Oh, fucker, _Aina had time to think before her bra was split in half.

* * *

Unlike Aina, Kagome didn't have the youkai instincts of a kitsune to contend with. When Inuyasha finally set her down after a breathless ride to some kami-forbidden part of the forest, she instantly knew what needed to be done.

"SIT! SIT! SIT!"

Inuyasha's body slammed into the ground, his beads of subjugation taking immediate effect. Each moment he tried to lever himself up, Kagome screamed the accursed word. Slowly, but surely, a trench nearly a foot deep was bore into the ground with his body. His normally pristine silvery white hair was dingy with dirt. Dirt had collected under his claws, and as his eyes faded back to their usual gold, he was clearly quite angry.

"KA-GO-ME!" he enunciated. "What the hell was that for?"

"For carting me off like some piece of treasure!"

Inuyasha's golden eyes narrowed dangerously. "Koga was near you, while you were _naked, _for a long time. I can tell by how you smell! So why didn't you yell for help?"

Kagome began blushing and stuttering, "Well, I, uh, it didn't really seem necessary—"

"How the hell was it not NECESSARRY?!" Inuyasha yelled, leaping to his feet.

Kagome glared, blue eyes narrowed to threatening slits. "I can take care of myself Inuyasha! We weren't in danger!"

Inuyasha stared at Kagome in disbelief. Even after so long in the feudal era, she was still so kami damned _innocent! _He burned with the need to protect her, and it looked like he needed to protect her from herself. She didn't understand the danger she was in constantly. Her innocent soul and pure scent called to youkai like a kami damned lure, drawing them to her like bees to honey. Koga was no different. The mangy wolf youkai would eventually stop hounding Kagome, and just take her by force. Inuyasha would rather die than have that happen.

"No, Kagome, you can't! You need me! I'm your protector!"

Kagome's features softened. That was it, wasn't it? He thought that she believed she didn't need him. "Oh, Inuyasha," she murmured, drawing close to him and grasping his clawed hands in his. She lowered her gaze, roving over the calloused palms gripped in hers to the sharp claws. Inuyasha tried to tug his hands from her, ears pinned to his head. He felt ashamed of his hanyou traits, the thick dirty silver hair, gold eyes, little fangs and claws. He didn't want Kagome to see him as everyone else did: a dirty hanyou, not welcome in any circles.

Gripping his hands, a warrior's hands, tighter, Kagome looked intently into Inuyasha's golden orbs. "I will ALWAYS need you to be there with me, Inuyasha," she said with a small smile. "You are my protector. I don't know what I would do without you."

Inuyasha gulped as Kagome wrapped her arms around his waist, stepping into the circle of his arms. Her arms twined around his waist, fists clenching in his heavy hair, face buried in his chest. Inuyasha stood still for a moment, staring in disbelief at the miko clutching him. Kagome was one of the only people who had ever embraced him. Taking a shuddering breath that Kagome felt to the depth of her bones, his arms carefully slipped around her, pulling her tighter to him. Inuyasha stuck his nose in her sweet smelling hair, smelling her scent of roses and sunshine.

The simple action of embracing Inuyasha instantly calmed down his roused demon instincts, locking them back under the tight cover the Tetsusaiga offered. But it also meant more than calming his father's blood; Kagome was giving him acceptance. She accepted both sides of him. Kikyo had tried to change him, but Kagome liked him just the way he was.

Inuyasha grinned a little, hidden by Kagome's night tresses.

* * *

Aina squeaked, but was unable to move or do anything to cover herself up. Her hands were pinned, and there was no hop of moving her legs with Sesshomaru's impressive weight pinning them down. As the last misty shreds of her arousal flitted from her mind, she realized the dire situation she was in. Pinned beneath an exceptionally powerful demon lord who was very intent on making her his mate fully? Sounds great, when read in a novel. _I mean, what girl wouldn't salivate a little thinking about that? Big, handsome demon hovering over you, intent on claiming you for all eternity as his? Sounds fantastic. Until it actually starts to happen. _Kagome thought with faint, panicky amusement.

Her body felt tight and heavy, achy and unfulfilled. She refused to ponder on what that meant for too long, too dead set on escaping Sesshomaru's cage. "Sesshomaru," she whispered. He tore his gaze from her bared breasts. Aina understood the danger those red eyes represented, but no spike of fear marred her scent. "You need to let me go."

Sesshomaru growled at that, coherent enough to recognize her command.

Aina tried to summon her powers to shock him a little, but they refused to respond to her call. "Sesshomaru, my mate," she tried again, appealing to the beast within him. "Please."

Sesshomaru growled again, less heatedly.

_Tell him its not the right time, that you need to wait for the full moon to do a claiming. _

Aina jerked at the unfamiliar brush against her mind. A dark form was hunched in the corner of her mind, whispering advice. Aina tried to probe the dark mass, but it evaded her search, whispering away from the tendrils of thought.

_Just do it, akarui! Time runs short before he sinks beneath his beast once more. I mean neither of you any harm. _

Aina didn't see how she had much choice. Hell, she wasn't the type to defend her virtue from marauding sex-on-a-stick demon lords, but that didn't mean she wanted her v-card to be swiped because Sesshomaru was an arrogant, overly possessive misogynistic asshole.

_A sexy one, at that. _

_Who's side are you on anyway? _

_Your's, forever and always since the very beginning, daughter of Akemi and Kashikoi. _

Aina's mind was briefly filled with a slideshow of a woman with long, curly black hair and glistening amber eyes. She was held in the arms of a handsome man with long, straight hair the color of fire and blazing green eyes. Pointed fox ears tipped in black peeked mischievously from the top of his head from amidst a thick sheaf of bangs that fell rakishly across his face. The couple was smiling happily, laughing and teasing each other.

_Your parents, akarui. _

_Who are you?! _

The voice laughed, a girlish titter like tinkling glass. Aina had a brief view of black silk sliding across the ground, and then the presence spoke once more before disappearing. _Come find me. Use the amulet about your neck. _

_I am the Sorceress. _


End file.
